Judd and Sarah

New Years Resolutions

2012-01-29T15:18:00.000-08:00

Judd loves to sit down every so often and write down plans. Whether they are plans for the month, or the year, or in years to come he just really likes to brainstorm and write things down.
So, it was no surprise to me when he had us sit down to make a New Years Resolution list. Our lists in the past have been as long as we could make them, I think they turned more into "wish list" than resolutions. But this year we made a short simple list so that we could really focus on them. And I didn't want to post it, until we could get through at least one month of success!!! So here is our list!

1)Temple, once a month
2)Country Dancing on campus (BYU-I) every Wed. night!
3)Family Prayer every night with our boys
4)Finish our commercial kitchen to participate in the Rexburg Farmer's Market!
5)Get in shape
6)Go on a cruise
7)Read the Book of Mormon
8)Do the Straw Maze again!

Not in any particular order, but I feel the key to success is to not just stop if we miss a few! We have already missed two or three nights of family prayer, and there was one week we didn't get to go country dancing and NORMALLY I would just give up! But we are still feeling good about our track record! We want to be able to go to the church once a week and play basketball or volleyball and then with country dance, it will really help us to get in shape. It's just really hard in the winter to exercise w/o a gym membership!
So here is to 2012! hopefully a very eventful year for our little family and our nation and our Rexburg Community!

More Christmas

2012-01-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

Aww beautiful Temple Square!!! I haven't been in 4 or 5 years (when the lights were out) and it felt so good to see the lights. I actually went so many times this year, I'm probably good for another couple of years. I got to go with my mom and sister. Then we were down with all of Judd's fam a few days later. And Then I went with my Dad and stepmom and fam. The third time is where the pics are from, and I got some really good shots. And ALL three times I went, it was SUPER cold, So this time I learned to really bundle up!

We spent Christmas in Drapper, Utah this year with my Dad and mom(stepmom) and my siblings that live close by (3) and then my brother's family came up from California. So it was a PARTY!! We did so many fun things! we went to the IMAX we went roller skating, bounce housing, and jungle jimming =o) And we had a lot of fun with my parents! My boys HAD A BLAST befor we went to temple square, we went to see the lights down at Thanksgiving point, and that was fun too, I had never done a light show, with music on the radio and such. really fun! Porter wearing Judd's size 13 skates~!

These are the gifts we gave out this year. Judd made them by hand with his brother Juston. It's a coin toss, 1 point if you hit inside the box and 3 if you hit inside the black pipe! it was fun! we played in Draper and Juston played with his inlaws in Utah too. I think we made 4 sets!! (8 in all) so it was a lot of work, they're all lined with carpet...oOOOooOo leave it to Judd to go all out!

It was so fun I think we are going to start making all our gifts for Christmas' in the years to come!

Christmas

2012-01-05T20:03:00.000-08:00

The boys waiting on the stairs with there cousins from California. This picture was very hard to get, it took awhile for my boys to cooperate, Porter kept sliding down the stair, and Jackson was pouting...but what felt like 10min later, we got a good picture. (We did this tradition in my family growing up. Oldest at the top of the stair and youngest at the bottom, I should dig one up and post it)

Porter Dear I love you so, your happy smiling face, is such a joy to look at! It makes the world a better place!!!!!

Jackson was also excited at anything he pulled out of his stocking. He could have pulled out a rock and thought it was SO AWSOME because it came from Santa

Grandpa! My Dad, he had a good Christmas I think. He was so fun. He would come down stairs and play with the kids over here and come watch a movie with us there, then go tend Jackson and play someother silly thing with Porter. What a good Gandpa he has turned out to be! I just loved watching him play with my kids and cousins.

And Judd! what a great sport with that smile on his face!

More Christmas Stuff

2012-01-05T19:47:00.000-08:00

I had some pumpkins that were still good and decided to try making my own pumpkin mash to cook with. I always remember my mom doing it, we never canned it that I know of, but she would make pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkins =o)

So I called her and she told me what to do. I baked it for an hour and then peeled the skin and just mashed it down with a potato masher....it was quite a lot of work, and I think I am happy to buy it from a can. I think too, that I had a pretty big pumpkin, I had two big canned pumpkins worth when I was done!

I made pumpkin cookies...that is my favorite pumpkin recipe! They turned out pretty good. But once again, not good enough to sway me from buying canned pumkin. I can now say I tried it! and that I REALLY made these cookies from scratch! I even grew the pumpkin! haha!

These are some hair bows I made for christmas time...if only I had a little girl.

Turned out really cute!

More Christmas Fun!

2011-12-05T13:50:00.001-08:00

Getting out the Christmas Tree! Jackson has been asking for the Christmas Tree every day since November. We told him we had to wait until after Porter's birthday (Nov 16th) and let me tell you, as soon as Porter's birthday was over he was asking about it again! So we put it up!! You can even see a balloon left over from his party

He was so happy, It was worth getting it out a few weeks early! =o)

We told him we wouldn't decorate it until Christmas, and he was okay with that!

CORNY picture, I know, but I was so proud of my nails, I had them all painted like this for church on sunday, and no one said a thing! I guess that's what happens when you sub primary...I had one 3 year old girl from sunbeams grab my fingers and touch them...she made me feel so good =o)
And some Christmas Cookies I saw in a magazine, with mint extract to make them that much more fun(as if the colors weren't enough!) This is the only pic I got, my kids gobbled them up fast!

A little Christmas Decorating

2011-12-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

Tis the season, I've been listening to christmas music and getting out a few christmas decor items everyday! I even have all my presents wrapped, I just can't wait for christmas this year. It is so much more fun having my little boys than it's ever been before!

speaking of the little cheesers! they would NOT give me a normal smile!!

I tried, again.

Some places in my house that make me happy...the mirror of course! Im so vein!

This is a little craft, Marry, Joseph, and Baby Jesus,I made this year for Relief Society, we also had a cookie exchange that was AWSOME! I have never been to one, and I came home with SO MANY pretty cookies, all different, my kids went WILD! even Judd =o) I took Red Velvet cake truffles dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with red sugar!!! they were fun

And our stockings hung in a row! I love, love, love, Christmas!

Porter's Birthday!!

2011-11-16T21:11:00.000-08:00

Our sweet little Porter turned TWO today!! Judd and I were looking at pictures and we just can't remember life without Porter. It's like he has always been with us since Judd and I first got together. It feels like that with both our boys! What did we DO before??? I remember drawing up my dream house all the time, and buying paint-by-number projects LAME!!! kids are WAY more AWSOME especially since they give us an excuse to PARTY!!!!

Thank You Grandma and Juston and Nicole, and baby Austin, for coming to our party. Grandpa was driving pigs tonight and couldn't be here =o( and Jackson was really sad about that! but we had a GREAT dinner and a beautiful cake with ice-cream! the boys had a ton of fun, I even let Jackson open one of Porter's presents. and of COURSE we practiced blowing out the candles several times =o)

Porter enjoying his cake with one of his birthday presents on his finger. I may not have little girls, but I still found a way to buy him some jewelry! haha. And a NEW RACE TRACK!! $10.00 at Walmart People!! However, we still haven't gotten the car to take the loops, BUT if you take the loops out it races the whole track! AND Porter doesn't care that it doesn't make the loops! He thought it was awsome!!

Jackson checking it out too!

A great book that Grandma bought. It has all kinds of animals in it. Some of the animals Porter could say and he was screaming them out! BUNNY! and Doggy!, kitty, cow, The best part was when we turned the page to the spiders he got the shivers!! haha! it was funny.

And a pack of gum...Yes, I know, he's only two, but he is in love with gum. He actually does pretty well at telling me when he's done. Other wise I think he just swallows it?! BUT don't worry people, I'll chew most of the pack before he does!

And I don't know how to post more than 6 pictures at a time on here, so for more birthday party, you'll have to scroll down to the next post!.

Porter's Birthday!!

2011-11-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

Eye balling the frosting!! Grandma, (Sue) made Porter's beautiful cake with the help of Uncle Juston!! The part porter has on his finger is a section of frosting grandma mixed grape coolaid in to get a "gravel looking color" it was VERY TANGY!!

The Masterpiece!!!

The cake had a ramp and everything! Porter LOVED the truck and skidsteer. (His grandpa has one, hehe)

OooOOooo I have to get every angle of the cake! I just thought it was SOO wonderful!!

These were some cupcakes I made early this morning to take to our social group. We sang happy birthday to Porter there, it was good practice for tonight!

We had a great party. Judd and I were very pleased with the simplisity of it all!! We only got Porter a few presents and he was SO happy!

The Cedar Point Maze

2011-10-10T16:05:00.001-07:00

What have WE been up too?? you ask? Well, between kids and my Farmer's Market endevores, we also spent all of September and some of August BUILDING a Straw Maze!!
Yup, it's true! we call it THE CEDAR POINT MAZE. The old school house on Judd's parent's property is our landmark and name. The sign you see below, we have ALL over town now and I hand painted almost every single one of them with my mother and sister in law!! We are SO excited that our maze is now open! (below our sign is the sign of our competition. We have had a lot of fun trying to one-up them on signs, and I think they are having fun with us too)

This is the ticket booth where we charge $5.oo, yup! that's it! $5.oo a person and tiny kids are free!

This little girl is enjoying her cotton candy she purchased from the concessions stand. Where we sell baked goods, hot chocolate and other treats! (Judd's kitchen is not yet finished, but is ON THE WAY) and we hope to be selling pulled pork sandwhiches very soon!!

Included in your entrance fee, is a little ity-bity maze for toddlers and 8 and 10 year olds who like to act like toddlers:O) and behind that little make you can see the great big maze behind it!!!

And this is where your fun begins!! So come on out!!! we would LOVE to see you!

Also not shown, is a HUGE tent where we hope to host ward parties or youth groups! with tables and chairs. We have a petting zoo, with a llama, bunnies, goats, and pigs, and we will soon have chichens! We also have home grown pumpkins for sale! AND the maze will be haunted after dark on the weekends!!
We have worked really hard, and we have also had fun, it is just so exciting for me to see some of the Riley's idea's come to life!

New Addition!

2011-10-10T15:57:00.001-07:00

I know some of you may have thought, by the title, that Judd and I were going to have another baby...but no :O) The new addition to our family is a little rooster. Called a silky. We got him for the Petting Zoo in our Straw Maze, which is where YOU can see him if you come out! But I bring him home at night, b/c I don't like him out in the cold and wind all night long....and mostly b/c Porter L.O.V.E.S. him!!! Just look at the pictures!!

and Ps. that is NOT bird poop on Porter's pants, those are paint stains! haha!

Tonight at the Market

2011-09-30T21:11:00.000-07:00

These are some new things I sold today at the Farmer's Market. Some Halloween skirts!

Some silk shoes...I have been selling lots of pink ones of course, so I thought I would try blue! and purple too!

The Market after dark! This is the first year they got lights up around all the tents! It is a great Idea, b/c it's only the last 5 weeks of the market that it get's dark before 8:00pm! but it adds alot and makes it really fun, there is also music playing the whole time. Tonight we even had some live singers who have come before in the past, they do an AWSOME job singing. Everyone walks around to the beet of the music and it was VERY nice tonight 72 degrees!

For pics, keep scrolling down!

Tonight at the Market, Cont.

2011-09-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

This is my booth at the Farmer's Market! I share with a wonderful lady named, Cheryl. She sells knitted hats (I've already bought two!) we laugh and have fun looking at the passer-byers and the buyers too!

These are some of the items I sold! Soccer shoes!

Camo shoes!

and a cute Halloween skirt

My biggest sellers however, are of course the girl shoes, anything with glitter or rhine stones and of course the silk is a big hit! Everybody here is so nice. Every Friday I have been buying these homemade mint patty's from a booth selling homemade hard candy and such, and tonight I didn't even go over to her, she just plopped some peppermint patties in my lap and said these are for you with a big smile on her face! So nice. One of the other booths gave me some fudge too! all for FREE! I also made some market trades tonight. I got TWO bars of handmade soap! and I got two beautiful hair bows, also handmade. I had a lot of fun!

Rexburg Farmer's Market

2011-09-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

Omigosh!? is that fur you see? yes it is! My newest baby shoe now has minky fur on the inside of the shoe to keep your little baby's foot warm through the winter =o)

These are the new fabrics I bought (after being told by some young students what style was in) stripes, argyle(not shown), and "the chevoron" which is zig-zag. I feel so out of the loop! to not know what the style is? I must be married with two kids and not gettin out enough to go shopping! SO, after their advice I got straight to work!

Skirts and shoes to match!

And part of my display for the Farmer's Market!

Okay, so remember when I told you that sewing these shoes was not something I did everyday, and that I wasn't obsessed and it was just somthing to do when I had nothing to do at all -well, skratch all that! It's offical, IM OBSESSED.
It's a good thing too, b/c I got into the Rexburg Farmer's Market, and I am now selling the things I am making!

I never thought I was one to put myself out there, and I was WAY nervious my first time I sold stuff (not to mension I only sold two pairs of shoes the WHOLE afternoon) But I have been there 2 more times since and have done very well.

My favorite thing about the Farmer's Market is that I am really feeling a sense of community, when we're all setting up our canopy's and tables every one is there saying, "can I help you?" "Can I get that for you?" "Oh, is this your first time?" "How did you do?" and my personal favorite, "Here, have some free dinner!" (from the vendor's selling food!) Every one is SO nice and so excited to succeed and to see everyone else around them succeed. I have had some great tips from other vendors, (who sell hair bows) tellin me which fabrics are "in" and I have had better success for it! I had a girl say , "Oh, I saw the cutest onesie with a vest sewn into it, you should sell those." and then she gave me a websight!

I been calling my parents to let them know how I do each week, and my second week there I told my Dad I sold 11 pairs of shoes...and he said to me, "An entreprenuer is born!" and I have been thinking about that and it's true! It's like a bug! I have caught the bug and I love it and I am so excited to find new things to make to sell.

The second thing I LOVE is seeing my product on the little babies being carried around the Farmer's Market. I have found a new hobby. I have found more fulfillment in life. The BEST part is, is that I can sew during my kid's naps and at night! I rarely work on my sewing when they are up and about! I get to spend all the time with my babies and still have this little business on the side to help support Judd and our family through all of HIS entreprenuer atempts :O)

New Skirt!

2011-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

I saw this AWSOME fabric at our craft store, Porter's. So, of course I had to buy it and I found a pattern, from a blog, that had a tutorial on how to make this "cupcake skirt"! so CUTE! anyway I just followed the directions, it was WAY SIMPLE, you could do it too. I'll post the blog at the bottom of the post.

So this is my skirt...well it would fit a 12-18 month old!

Then of course with the scraps I made some shoes to match =o)

And this is a whole nother project! Jackson is officially OUT OF OUR BED!! yeah!! it has been almost two months, and the last two weeks he hasn't even whined about being in his own bed, he just accepts it and even kind of prefers it now! who'd of thought this day would ever come? not me! ANYWAY his prize? I would paint a dragon on his wall. This dragon comes from a book I have loved since the third grade when my teacher Mrs. Bonds, first read it to our class. I bought the book in gradeschool from schelastics and I found it a few years ago. ANYWAY< I read it too my kids now =o) So I copied the dragon from this book. (the only difference is that Jackson wanted his scales purple, instead of red)...

I had a lot of fun doing it and took me longer than I thought (three nap times) But it was all worth it to see Jackson SO happy! what a little cheese ball!

Baby Blankey

2011-08-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

Oh, this is just a quilt I've been sewing on. It turned out WAY cute...I'm just a little proud of it=o

The Fair

2011-08-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

Jackson entered two pictures in the Madison County fair and he got a blue ribbon for each! He was so proud, and partly didn't even know what was going on or what the ribbon was for. We told him it meant he did a good job painting his picture. He didn't understand what judges were...and well we had fun at the fair!

I entered a Rhubarb Pie and some Huckleberry Lemon Scones. which also got blue ribbons =o) but the grand champion was a lady who entered a razzelberry pie. so, next year Im going to make a razzelberry pie! hehe

My Garden

2011-08-16T11:40:00.001-07:00

Okay so I did "My Garden" over two posts so keep scrolling down!
This first post are the things I have harvested from my garden!!!
Cherries!! I have even more jars downstairs!! Judd actually helped me pitt and can these cherries, he is such a good worker! and they are SOOO good!!

Squash!! lettuce, carrots, beans!! (today was are first time to get beans!) and Garlic!! yup, who knew?? It's funny b/c Judd and I thought this whole time the garlic were onions! they started growing in April so for 5 months we thought the garlic were onions!!! So we are VERY HAPPY we eat a lot of garlic! mmmm
but b/c we waited so long to pull them up, they aren't as potent as the store's bummer! the lettuce has been SO nice to have around. I buy a head of lettuce every week, and I haven't had too all summer. So it's saved me at least $10 =o)

These are my helpers. Jackson insisted on wearing his dinosaur costume this morning and of course whatever Jackson wants Porter wants too!

Jackson is VERY helpful, he helped my pick ALL the beans this morning, and he catches the bad bugs that try to eat our corn (grasshoppers)

And last but not least. MOST IMPORTANT, even more important than my garden...Jackson is in his own bed now!! for over a week now!!!

My Garden

2011-08-16T11:27:00.001-07:00

AWWW a Garden, It is just SO exciting when those little seeds pop there heads up. And even more exciting to watch them grow and get bigger. Plants grow so fast you can almost see daily changes...so fun! Well the MOST EXCITING part is harvesting! I am so retarded that I have to utube how to harvest some of darn little plants b/c I know nothing about gardening. BUT this garden proves that if I can do it, YOU can do it!

My Pumpkins!

Corn on the cob!!!!! my boys love to run through it by-the-way

My first pepper!!

itty bitty peppers just starting to grow

And my tomatoes!! I actually have two more but they are oval shaped!

So This is my Garden!! It has grown so nicely. I think we may have over watered it b/c some of the garlic we're pulling up has mold on the base of the stems and Judd thinks the Tomatos and peppers aren't really growing because of too much water. But next year! next year will be different. We'll plant all the things that need lots of water in the front and the things that need less water in the back. (we have a cute little river rock stream that flood irrigates our garden plot.
The garden has been lots of fun. I am a big fan!! This will definately be a new summer hobby!

Baby Shoes

2011-08-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is what I do when I am NOT in the garden, or going to the park with my boys.

This pair I made out of Jackson's Pajammas that are sentimental to me b/c these were the jammies he was wearing when he first started to walk! And they are just TOO CUTE with the little blue lions!

This booty I love b/c the button on the front just really makes the shoe!

This one I love b/c the colors are just fun!

And this Idea came to me when I thought HELLO! of course people need shoes to bless their little babies in. I saw this flower made out of ribbon at Porter's Craft and thought, "I can make that!" So I did and I put it on the sweetest little shoe ever!

The more I do the more Ideas I get! I can feel my mind open up and Ideas just flood in. I started makeing a bunch of animal print ones (first picture) and then I started making a bunch of paisley and western looking ones. THEN I started putting silk flowers on them and ribbons. AND now I have another great I idea!!! hehe I can't wait to show you once I get it going.
But then I was thinking, what about halloween booties and christmas?? I mean only if I have time, I mean I really am not as addicted as I sound, These have all been made over the last few months people, not days! =o)

Canada/ Waterton

2011-08-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Every 24th of JULY we go to Canada and spend time with family up there. We always go to Waterton nationl Park (Glacier, state side) and have a fire and celebrate tate's birthday. Judd ALWAYS takes this oportunity to build a dam across the river using the river rocks. Well Jack and Juston joined in as they usually do and they actually went for a swim this year!!! all but Judd =o) We saw several deer, or the same one several times and we had a great lunch! it was a ton of fun!

Canada/ Waterton

2011-08-08T10:55:00.000-07:00

pictures of cousins taken curtesy of Jimmy Stringham who stole my camera! some great pics though Jim

Canada/ Waterton

2011-08-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

an update!

2011-07-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

Can you see our beautiful CHERRY tree?! It is the first thing I see when I pull into our driveway! ANYWAY, the berries were ripe for the picken so I hopped to it and this....

...turned into this!! Cherry pie filling. And I made the best cherry pie I have ever tasted! and Judd agreed (and it's rare when we agree)

Now for some family pics! this was on a walk up by Heise we took with my parents when they came to visit!

This is a pic of us during one of the 4th of July Parades. We spent the weekend down near Logan, Utah. Judd's sister Julie was a fabulous host!! We went to a carnival, a HUGE car show. (It was my 6th year in a row spending 4th of July down there...it's pretty much a tradition now)

And last but not least. Utah, most of Idaho, and even parts of Canada celebrate the 24th of July as the day to honor the Pioneers that came and settled the West! It's just like the 4th of July, Parades, fireworks, free community events! July is a great month for us up here in the Northwest! We spend ours every year, in Canada where most of Judd's extended family lives. This is a family photo with Grandma James! we had SO much fun!

more pictures to come =o)

My Garden

2011-06-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Corn, with our barn in the background, where the pigs are kept!

lettuce

squash, yellow or zuchinni. I planted both, but I forgot which row was which!

And our tomatoes and peppers (that we have to keep inside b/c we live in IDAHO, the coldest place on earth)

I just planted pumpkins, cucumbers, peas, and more squash a few days ago!!
I say it's my garden b/c I have done all the work!! I weeded, I got the Rototiller, I planted the seeds, I water it...and Judd talks about how nice it will be when we harvest! (I feel like the Little Red Hen:)
SO Another reason I have not blogged in so long is b/c I just have been busy! Idaho has such a short growing season you have GOT to be ready by june 1st to plant, or you may miss it!! (that's what I feel like, anyway) If you want to see my FLOWER garden, scroll down!!!

Sorry it's been SO LONG

2011-06-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

The reason I haven't been blogging in a LONG time....

I get a good TWO hours everyday while the boys take their naps (at the same time) to do whatever I want. And I have just wanted to sew these little babbies up! They are SO fun because they each turn out so different! I have given away ten pairs already! I also made this headband with a friend to go with a skirt I made out of the same material. I have just kept really busy with sewing and I feel really good when I do it. It's tedious work, but the end results are almost instant. and permament. (unlike cleaning your house, just to have it messy withing 5 minutes after the kids wake up!)

Backyard Campout

2011-06-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

Omigosh! can I just say that again?? Omigosh! Jackson LOVED this!! he was SOOOO excited to sleep in the tent and sleep in a bag. HeHe. I think he was SOOO excited was because we kept telling him we were going to "set up the tent tonight" b/c we had so many nice mornings, but every day by 3 or 4 it was windy and raining. So for almost a week we kept saying, "tomorrow!" But we finally got it done!

This is our set up. camp chairs I got for Judd on his B-Day and an awsome firepit, dug out by Judd's 11 year old scouts =o)

Jackson wouln't sleep in there without me I waited until he fell asleep and headed into my bed. (please, a mattress over the hard ground, no way am I sleeping all night)and somebody had to be in the house with Porter.

We did have alot of fun. Jackson and Dad lasted until 3:00am (when Jackson peed the bed) (and I got a lecture from my 3 year old about ditching out on them!)

MAGIC!!!

2011-06-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

I planted these babies in October. Two weeks after we moved in. I had to weed the WHOLE bed and it is long! and I dug them all up b/c I did NOT want them back in the spring. But my hard work payed off!! take a looky! They are beautiful. Planting a seed (or bulb) and just letting nature take it's coarse, is just SO MAGICAL

judd's birthday

2011-04-08T09:43:00.001-07:00

My mom came up this last week and we got to do some fun things together...like manicures and take the boys to see baby animals and things like that. But an AWSOME thing she did for me, is she bought me all the stuff I would need for canning! And she bought some apples and we canned apple pie filling that we made from scratch!!! It was so fun! and what a process, but in the end, these beautiful Jars made it all worth it!!! It will be SO benificial b/c we have TWO apple trees that grow delicious apples, and we have rasberry bushes, and cherry trees and plum tree's too!! So I will be making jelly and canning apples all summer and fall!!!! I can't wait!

THese are my boys! They are outside any second of the day that it's not snowing, or raining. We had ONE day of 65 the rest have been high 40's, but with the wind, well, you just don't want to go outside. On one of the nicer days, Jackson said, "can you get my wagon?" So Judd pulled the wagon out and Jackson loved pulling Porter around the yard!

This is Judd's little birthday party we had. My mom was here for this too, so she made us dinner, that was nice! And we got cupcakes from the cocoa bean which are HEAVENLY!!!

We are going to have another party, I think when Judd's mom is in town, and his brother was out of town too, so more pics to come later!

And this is Judd in his scout uniform! He has the 11 year old scouts and I thought it would be funny to put this picture on here, even if he thinks it's not funny =O)

Ladybugs!

2011-03-31T14:18:00.001-07:00

SO, for the last 3 weeks or so we have been find -I mean the boys, have been finding ladybugs in our house...at first I think it was just the same one they kept refinding it. But now I am convinced there are several! Spring is coming. Porter LOVES the bugs, so does Jackson, but Porter is so fun to see he giggles and squeals and loves to have them crawl on him. It's nice for me, A single ladybug can entertain Porter for 5 whole minutes!

We have been putting the ladybugs in the vegetables we have been starting. Porter has one on his finger, and you can tell he is excited, hehe. We know there are hopefuly no aphids on these leaves for the ladybugs to eat. But I have no where else to put them.

I opened a couple bags of beans into a cardboard box and the boys play with them every now and then...it's a "special activity" But it has kept us sane through the winter months...

We have had the beans about two months now....maybe I'll try planting them outside in a few weeks...don't worry, we wont eat them!
But they LOVE to put their hands in the beans and scoop them with measuring cups and hide their little toys in them....? I don't know how they think of these things...but it's what we have I guess, until we get a sandbox!

I know, it's been a long time

2011-03-28T12:57:00.001-07:00

It's been a while and I have been just doing the same ole same ole with the kids...yeah, we mix it up a bit, Artic Circle for lunch, then some days McDonalds. We also play with play dough, color, watch tons of movies, and the boys wrestle like crazy!!! SOOOO when they go to sleep (Porter is on a one-nap-a-day- schedule...finally!) I get to play. hehehe
So this, turns into...

this...

and I made this one too....=o)

And now I am stuck!!! should I make the blue run diagonal????

Or, Straight up and down?????

I just don't know what to do? Tell me what you think...The flowers are diagonal one way, or straight the other....I just can't decide, What do you think?
When the blue runs diagonal the quilt is bigger...but that doesn't matter b/c either way I'm going to have to add borders to make it fit a king size bed!

awfuls

2011-02-09T07:23:00.001-08:00

ME: Jackson, what do you want for breakfast?
Me: Do you want some waffles?

JACKSON: YES! I want some awfuls!

Update

2011-02-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

Well, as some of you don't know it is snow days up here in Rexburg. The temperature has been about 9 or 10 degrees, but the news says it feels like -31 after windchill. YEAH, I KNOW! So we have been cooped up inside by the fire, slowly going crazy!! Well, today it was 30 above and we decided to whip outside to build a snow man! We had a lot of fun!
Jackson and Porter in their snow gear...Jackson is singing his cares away!

Porter Baby!

Our snowman! Porter was outside for a good 20minutes before he decided he'd had enough! I just took him in and let him stand up in our BIG window and watch us finish up the snowman...It was really cute so see Porter poking his head over the window seal to watch Jackson and I finish our snowman.

Jackson had a lot of fun. He did alot of the work, He's gotten to be a pretty good snowman builder! He loved it when I put the scarf on the snowman!

Last weekend we had the cousins up from Nevada! Jackson got to spend some good quality time with Triston, they are really good boys!

And Porter loved having someone smaller than him around! Porter and Weston!

Thanks Jack and Jenay for coming up to see us! We can't wait to see you again!

Jackon's Birthday

2011-02-01T12:02:00.001-08:00

Jackson turned THREE years old. January 20th. We celebrated his birthday on the actual day but I am just barely posting it! We had a BIG spaghetti dinner with grandma and grandpa and Jenny and Leo. (Juston and Nicole were in the hospital with their new little baby) But we had a lot of fun!
A big bite of cake!
Jackson also got a mini basketball from grandma and grandpa and a hoop to go with it, from his other Grandma and Grandpa, Which BOTH the boys love to play with!

Jackson also got a flute, which Porter loves to play with
The great, the wonderful, the "I've been waiting since before christmas" IRONMAN!! I was SO excited for him to open this present, I thought it was going to be this big HURRAH, I got the video camera out, and he opened it and said..oh, ironman. And just stared at it....it was very anticlimatic

Jackson got "How to Train your Dragon" he LOVES this movie, we have rented it 6 times from redbox... so I thought it was time to buy it (and we have watched it at least 6 times since)scroll down for more birthday!

Jackson's Birthday!!

2011-02-01T11:54:00.001-08:00

YEAH!! A family pictures, they are rare and you can see why, haha! Happy Birthday Jackson!!

I made him an Ironman Cake and he was pretty dang excited over it. I think he was more excited about the ironman cake than he was the ironman toy! It was an Ice Cream cake I made from scratch and I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out. Just as good as Baskin Robbins! (not as pretty though)

Now last year for his birthday breakfast I made him Mickey Mouse pancakes, so I thought, HEY why not make it a tradition?!?! So I had a lot of fun making these for Jackson.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON! I love my little boy!

Mustache Mania

2011-01-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

My Baby Shepards!!

2011-01-09T19:40:00.001-08:00

Okay I posted out of order, so sorry, in this and the next post I will be repeating myself in some ways... SO we reinacted the christmas story and I just wanted to show off the costumes. Judd's mom has a suitcase full just for this once a year play. So here is the play, Jackson was dressed as a shepard, but demanded to be the star, and he did SO good holding the star up the whole time. He tried hard to get it over their heads...I know he was just holding a star, but I was just SO proud of him, it almost made me cry that he was taking his job so serious! It was extra cute becuase his head piece was hanging in his eyes so he could hardly see but he didn't even figet with it.

Oh and Porter just laid down in front of Juston and Nicole so he suddenly became baby Jesus in that instant, even though we had originally planned on a baby doll! Nicole made a GREAT Marry with her prego belly. And if you watch the video you could hear Titan and Jackson screaming back and forth at eachother off and on...so It wasn't perfect

Porter dress as a shepard, the back of him, He looks SOOOOO CUUUUUTE! Even from the back!

Another action shot of Jackson doing a great job!

Julie and Mom following the script, so they could tell us what song to sing, and when to pause, and Dad narrating from the scriptures!

And Judd getting dressed up as a shepard...So if we lived in the desert and had to wear these clothes, I would still think Judd was cute!

My Baby Shepards!!

2011-01-09T19:26:00.000-08:00

This year doing the Christmas story play was SOOO much fun. The funnest I've had since I was 8! My little shepard boys were SOOOO cute!! We did this Christmas Eve, as is the traditions in a lot of homes. We did it in my home growing up, and Judd did it in his, and his Mom has been so good to continue the tradition, even when there were no grandbabies! (I also had fun the year I got to play Marry, because I was pregnant with Jackson...that was a fun year too (Judd was the donkey, Hee hee, no he really was!!))ANYHOO! check out the pics
Jackson held the star and he did SO GOOD. The second he saw it he said he wanted to be the star! I just thought that was SOOOOO cute! He stood there and stood there and tried to hold that star up the whole time. (I should give him a star to hold up in church)

This is Moo, Jackson's Cousin

Porter and Jackson, I LOVE THEM. I should dress them like shepards ALL the time!

Porter, with HIS baby Jesus, He kind of knew what was going on...

And Jackson the "Star" of the show... haha even though Im corny, I couldn't resist!

IRON MAN

2010-12-17T17:53:00.000-08:00

Jackson loves Ironman. We rented Ironman 2 from Red Box and watched it when Jackson was still awake and we have never heard the end of Iron Man sense. Jackson knows he wants an Iron Man for his birthday (we already told him he wasn't getting it for Christmas)
cute things he says:
"I be Ironman and Porter be Spiderman"
"Ironman kills monsters like this!" and then he does this pose in the pic below.

He was all about that pose for about three weeks then Judd just recently printed this picture out for him and gave it to him tonight...

So this is his new Ironman pose!...I love it! It's so funny...He does jump off the table now and then and we have to tell him no. But this Ironman thing works really good when bribing! We say, Ironman eats ALL his dinner, that's how he gets strong! and then he'll eat his whole dinner! or lunch, or breakfast! Or we tell him, when he gets out of hand with it, that Ironman only hurts monsters (opposed to his little brother) yeah,

We love our little Ironman

Santa!!

2010-12-14T19:18:00.000-08:00

Our Library did a "Christmas Extravaganza!" They had crafts, story telling, and Santa. Jackson had a BLAST! He got a BLUE candy cane from Santa clause which he thought was SO cool, b/c we only have the red ones at home. And he did a really good job making the crafts. All I did was apply the glue and he put everything together! I was so surprised...I was joking with my friend, that his hands were so steady when applying the buttons and eyes, etc...that he may be a surgeon some day, and follow in his Grandpa's shoes!!
We had a lot of fun. THank You Madison Library, I just wish I had told more of my friends about it, however, I did see alot of people there I knew =o)
These are what Jackson made, a Santa and a snowman, out of a toilet paper roll, everything was provided and already cut and ready, it was just so fun! And look how proud he is!!!

I don't know why this picture is so dark, sorry, but it was the only shot I got! Jackson was very excited to see Santa and was happy to sit on his lap...but he did not say ONE word to him and he didn't smile once...poor santa

And all I can say about Porter's shot with Santa is.....Classic!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

my boys at one year old

2010-12-14T10:45:00.000-08:00

Okay so I just thought it was interresting to see the similarities and differences between the boys at one year of age. This is Jackson at his one year party.

This is Porter at his one year party

Jackson at one year with his birthday cake

This is Porter with his one year birthday cake

And the boys now....with their moose jammies on.

Jackson is just a bit fatter....and had more hair, but just on the back of his head...?

christmas crafts/decoration

2010-12-11T10:03:00.001-08:00

Jackson posing as a super hero! He found Porters bright yellow fleece suit and thought that is had to be a superhero costume

My dad bought this christmas boot for his wife, Karie, and she thought it was kind of tacky, I said I LOVE IT! so she gave it to me and I used it as a pattern to make three other boots, they are christmas stockings. I have some pink and brown sparkly paisley fabric for a future little girl (no I'm not pregnant!) So we each have a stocking.

I thought they turned out SO CUTE! I just need to put some rhine stones on them...maybe save that for next christmas!!

I got three wreaths at a garage sale, and I had these pares...probably from Karie too! =o) I bought the bows last year after christmas sale, and then bought the flowers this year for 1 dollar for all of them. and hotglue gunned it all together, I made TWO!

And my snow village. Department 56 that is. I could only fit a few pieces, sorry mom.

Porter

2010-12-11T09:06:00.001-08:00

I don't have words...He was just so proud to have these oven mitts on...I just think he is SO cute! I LOVE him so much!!!!

HaHa! you can see some of the long hairs on his head. We have still never cut his hair...b/c it still needs to grow! It's just funny. Jackson had a head full of curls at this age.

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree!

2010-12-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

Puting up the christmas tree was SO fun this year! Jackson got so excited to see a christmas tree whenever we went inside a store, so I couldn't wait to get ours up. This event took place over a week or so, the boys were so happy just to have the tree up (prelit) that I put off decorating it until a few days ago=o)
This is Judd and Jackson getting the tree out of it's box

This is Porter loving the colorful lights on the tree. They were dancing around it, crawling under it, it was just fun to see them excited

aww, my boys at christmas time!

Our Tree!!

Porter's Birthday

2010-12-09T13:48:00.001-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PORTER!!

I am getting so far behind on my blogging!
Porter's birthday and Part was on November 16th
We had a big dinner, friends, family, presents and cake and ice cream! I didn't get too many good pictures but I made an awsome video with our flip camera!!
We had Pork Loin, dressed in bacon onions and garlic, MMMMmmm curtesy of Sam's Club!
I made a Ball cake because he LOVES BALLS! what a boy eh?
Now for the stats: He is 19lbs; 29 inches;can walk and run and climb up on everything; he jabbers ALOT but no real words yet! AND he LOVES his brother!

THis is just unwraping presents, Jackson unwrapped ALL the presents! haha but that made it fun for both of them!

I loved this picture, He was so tired, but he put up with the chananagans anyway!

And of course I bought him some balloons! what boy doesn't LOVE them? he and Jackson fought over them for the next couple of days, but it was worth it!
I love you doot doo!

Halloween costumes and halloween

2010-11-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

This was an outfit I had the boys wear one of the days prior to Halloween=o) We got these last halloween the day after sales. I was 8 months prego with porter so I knew exactly what sizes to get. I don't plan for things very often, but when I do, I am just so proud of myself=o)

This is the costume I made. My Dad bought us Porter's costume at Cosco and they only went up to 18 mo. So I thought...why don't I make Jackson a matching costume, only Orange. Than, my dear friend, Heather Bird emailed me 5 different websights with patterns for a Dino costume. I picked PBS' Buddy from the Dinosaur train...mostly b/c it was orange. Well i just couldn't figure out the pattern on the internet, so I just studied the costco one and made one for Jackson off of that. I did get some tips from the PBS websight, and the pattern for those blue scales down his back, and it also told me how much fabric I would need. and vuala!

I am just so proud... can you tell? But I can't take all the credit. I would like to thank my mom for buying me a sewing machine for my high school graduation present! I would like to thank BYU-Idaho for teaching me how to sew in the sleaves and zipper. And I would like to thank my little boy Jackson, who LOVED to wear it, and asked to wear it almost everyday for the whole month of October.

I am happy to report that b/c I made his costume I made Judd help me take our family to EVERY halloween activity there was in Rexburg. HAHA there were 5 full nights of fun and food and candy for Jackson and his costume. Porter had no Idea what was going on no matter where we were or what he was wearing.

Also if you want to keep reading you can...Judd and I planned our ward's halloween party, and we both thought it was really fun. We had SO much food. and lots of fun games for the kids and adults in our ward. Of course we couldn't have done it without our helpers and the people who brought food. But it was really fun! I dress up like a clown and tied balloons into animals...thanks dad for buying be that kit for christmas (12 years ago?) well it finally paid off. the little kids loved it!

We took Jackson trick-or-treating and he was SOOOO cute. It serisously took him about 10 houses before he understood what was going on. But once it got it he was excited to run and knock on doors. I loved this month of October!

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!

Our House

2010-10-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

Now that I have lived here for one month, I think I have a good Idea of how it's going to be here......and I LOVE IT!! I love living in a house! I love this house. Some days I wish we could buy it. It is the total steriotypical country cottage. Built close to the early 1900's. It is small and cozy and a fixer upper! Lots of things were done before we moved in. And lots of things we get to do ourselves. Most of it is outside. Like fix the fense, weed the garden, and so

This is the shop. Judd is in here every morning that I sleep in. He has already used it to fix our van, the power steering pump went out. And he rotated the tires in here. And he changed our oil. =o) It's his happy place.

This is the barn!

This is our huge yard, Just the front! which we use almost everyday.

The House!!

This is driving up to our house!

We also have a full garden with irrigation. a place to make a sandbox (not until spring) and a clothesline where I hang all of Jackson, Porter, and Judd's clothes...Not mine, I didn't grow up that way. =o)We have cherry trees, plum trees, and apple trees. I have made three apple pies from scratch. I love it!

I have weeded the whole back patch of dirt by the back door (the door that we use all the time) and planted TULIPS!! I planted 30 of them. So I hope some pop up this spring!

news! news! news!

2010-09-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so a lot has been going on, that is why I haven't posted in a long time. Number one news flash: PORTER IS WALKING!!! he started just a few days after he turned 10 months old...We are proud but not too surprised, considering that Jackson walked at 10 1/2 months we knew Porter would want to try to keep up with his brother.

number TWO news flash: JACKSON IS POTTY TRAINED!! yeah!!! he has had two whole days of no accidents (I know it doesn't seem like much, but after days and days and days of accident, two days with none is AWSOME!!)

number THREE news flsh: WE ARE MOVING! we are going to a house just a mile away from where we live now. And we are getting really excited. We took our first few loads of stuff over today, and we officially move in oct 1st!

Pictures to come later!!

THE TRAILER PROJECT

2010-09-08T13:49:00.001-07:00

Okay, So, we got this trailer in MAY from Judd's cousin. They live right behind Judd's Dad's house in Rexburg. Her husband hauled the trailer across the fields and the ditch with his escavator. it was pretty cool. So yeah, that is a tarp on top becuase the roof blew off and few months before, and we couldn't reuse it (judd said) bc it leeked, I think he could have just patched it.
When we moved it onto the property we realized we weren't really ready for it. We didn't have the power or water lines. So we spent a week with the power box, judd had to buy parts and put it together on a post and then an electrician had to come out and inspect it. Then we had to dig up the water lines which was a hit and miss. Judd's Dad thought he knew where they were so he just started digging with his skidstir and LUCKILY they found the line the same day. Judd had to buy some more parts to bring the water up and we had to check the water pressure, which was good, and which was LUCKY too.

Judd and his power box.

So we got this trailer to turn it into a commercial kitchen. YUP it's true. We have to do weird things like put a sink in the floor and a drain. We have to finish the walls with a washable paint, or put up plastic. We have to get the whole thing signed off and approved as we go. We want to start catering, and this is the way the city/state says we have to do it.
Okay so the power was suppose to cost us another $300 but when they came to hook it up they said, "oh this power line is twisted and old, and bc it had a transformer on it the city has to replace it for you." and while they were doing it they gave us the power for free. or something, it was LUCKY.

trailer cont.

2010-09-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

okay so this is the inside of the trailer when we first got it. Well, Judd had already started ripping stuff off, as you can see the mess on the floor. It smelled like mice, so we had to tear off all those walls and the cabinets. And we had to tear out all the insulation too bc it was basically a big mouse nest...yeah...so these are pictures of one end and then the other end.

and these are pictures of the new insulation, and later you will see pictures of the sheet rock. I put that insulation in by the way!! Judd was doing stuff on the roof while I worked cutting and measuring insulation and instaling it. I had a sore throat for 3 days after from the fiberglass, and I luckily knew to wear long sleeves and gloves so my skin didn't get it too bad...aren't you proud of me?

after the insulation is done, then you have to put up big sheets of plastic, then the sheet rock...I learned so much!

The Roof

2010-09-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

First Judd had to measure then build all these tresses for the roof.

Then when he had made enough he nailed them on the trailer(Judd and his Dad on the roof)Okay so when we got to this part we got a notice on the trailer that we had to get a building permit (we were hopeing to skip that part) And they would have to come inspect the trailer and we had to tell them our plans for it and we would have to pay this big fee... SO Judd got me stressed out saying, well they may make us tear the roof off, bc technically we aren't suppose to do ANYTHING until we get our permits...But LUCKILY they were nice and said the roof looked good and to keep going (and really they just wanted their fee) which was almost $300.

and then they laid cross boards to stablize the tresses, and for something to screw the tin onto.

This is a storm that went around the farm. Really. It rained everywhere but where we were working. (I thought that was a blessing) So we had the whole thing with out a roof for 3 or 4 days and it didn't rain once, even though it was in the forecast.

This is the tin they screwed on the roof. next Judd cut all those boards so they were even, and then he covered the end with plywood and then tin to finish it off.(And that is Jackson climbing on the latter.)

Trailer cont.

2010-09-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

This is showing the last bit of sheet rock we had to do to cover the insulation

sheet rock is finished!!! But we have to get an inspection, I hope we pass, we haven't even scheduled it yet bc we haven't been here. (Or Judd hasn't been here.) and you can see the windows are in. (Just putting in all the windows took a WHOLE day)AND there used to be a window in that little end, but he put plywood over it and tin, and it saved us spending another $150 on a window! He did such a good job.

The back of the trailer finished

The front of trailer finished!! except for one little window (above the power box.)

detailed picture of the roof. There had to be no loose ends, all the tin had to be tight and sealed. I told judd the roof was good after we had all the plywood on, but he said no he had to cover it with tin to make it look nice. and it does. but it took a lot of extra time. Now all we have left for the outside is a new door. A stairway to get up, the trailer's skirt, and of course, frame in the windows.

So we have been working really hard. We usually get to work only 2 days a week!. Judd has been working with his dad selling pigs, so he is gone 2 or 3 days a week. Then one day is Sunday (no working) and the other 2 days we spend on the trailer. It has taken us 3 1/2 months to get this far and it has been very frustrating for me. I live in a time when you usually can get what you want almost instantly! I have had to be patient. IM NOT GOOD AT THAT. And I feel like we still have SO far to go. which we do. But next summer we will be ready to do the farmers market. And we may get to cater this winter for weddings or business chirstmas parties or other things. It just a matter of getting the word out.

Our key thing is PORK of course! pulled pork, tastey enough to stand on it's own, you don't even need BBQ sauce. We brine and slow cook the pork. It's actually Judd's family tradition, I just came into it. I have NEVER tasted anything like it, except in Hawaii when they do the luau pigs. And just two weeks ago we had somebody tell us it was better than the Polynesian Cultural Center's.? There are several other's doing BBQ pork, and Sam's club has their pulled pork now, which is dang good. But seriously, Judd's family recipe is BETTER!!
So this is why I support his crazy, but good, Idea. I'll keep you posted!

Happenings at the Riley's

2010-09-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

So I found Jackson asleep like this. He asked me for the "hoop ball glove" every ball is a hoop ball. Don't ask. But the first ball he learned to say was basket ball and because it goes in the hoop, well there you go...cute huh? I LOVED finding him like this!

This is a new haircut after we went to Canada, so a little old.

Look at my boy Porter, growing up. This started happening about two or three weeks ago. We keep thinking he is going to walk, but nope! he wont take a step, but he loves to stand, he does it all the time!

SO, we read this story and Jackson was flipping out over his indian feather hat and kept flipping the pages back and showing it to me, and I thought...I have some feathers so I might as well....

Life is pretty fun for the most part, I am so sad the summer is going. I can't even think about it or I will cry. seriously.
Oh and scroll down for a crazy story

Happenings at the Riley's

2010-09-04T12:13:00.001-07:00

Okay, So Jackson is obsessed with his bike. We go on the side walk almost everyday, sometimes twice! he rides down to the cult de sac, around and over on the other side and them comes all the way back. I have to go with him bc there are like 5 driveways and well he doesn't look for cars...anyway. The point is, there is this BIG hole in the asphalt in one of the parking lots. And so, of course, it fills up with water. from rain, dew, the sprinklers? I just know that there is always water in that hole.

okay, so that's the background. By this dip/hole in the asphalt the sidwalk slopes down then back up, so it's a favorite side route of Jackson's to ride his bike down and up agian. momentom, speed, all things that boys like. Okay so that is how we discovered the hole.

Well sometimes I get distracted. A neighbor comes out and chats with me, or I'm on the phone....anyway I was not paying attention....and well, you can see the pictures.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS! oui!

Family Pictures

2010-08-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

Okay so I don't know why, but I just pictured our session going so well and being so easy, BUT HELLO I have a two year old!! anyway, Jackson was SO hard to get to cooperate. It was not easy. Not to mension it rained the first 10 minutes we were there. ANYHOO, it just wasn't fun like I pictured, but we got some good pictures. I had to spread them out over several posts bc the memory.

Also, the only pictures of Jackson smiling was bc I told him I would give him some candy when we went back to the car, any candy he wanted, chocolate, a sucker, gummy, anything he could name it and he FINALLY SMILED! he would cover his face, or frown everytime the camera was ready! OUI! Then Porter was just trying to understand what the heck we were doing. And he may have been cold. but he would not smile! The pic of him smiling is when I finaly thought to tell Jackson to go over there and make him smile. Jackson was the only one who could make him smile! That just made me feel warm and cozy inside! I love my boys!

Family Pictures

2010-08-25T15:46:00.001-07:00

Family Pictures

2010-08-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here's my blue eyes...

Family Pictures!

2010-08-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

FAT Jackson!!

2010-08-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, So I went to the store and Judd was watching the boys. no biggy. But when I got home I saw Jackson looking like this outside on his bike! haha!! Aparently, Judd was on the computer holding Porter, when Jackson went in his room and stuffed lots of his toys down his jammies. HAHA he unzipped them and then zipped everything up inside of him. HAHA I just thought it was SOO funny.

Lunch in the Park

2010-08-04T12:55:00.001-07:00

Every day from 11:30 to 12:30pm Porter Park and Smith Park have free lunches for kids 1-12. So, every so often we go to the park and get lunch. It's so fun to be apart of such a great community. I feel like no matter what day I go or how much I go, or seldom that I go, I will always see someone I know! I love that feeling!
This day I saw my friend Vicki, she has twins. So we sat on her blanket and the babies played together, while Jackson scarfed down his chocolate milk, had one bite of something and RAN off to the playground!

Porter found a golf ball, which made him very happy.

Jackson's favorite park activity....swinging. HE. LOVES. IT.

Keep scrolling down for more pics!

Lunch in the Park

2010-08-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

Jackson, chugging his milk!

I would go to the park everyday for free lunch, BUT I have a TWO year old who throws a fit when we leave...and I can only handle that one or two times a week. He really does love it though...That's why I keep trying I guess=o)

Our trip to Canada

2010-07-30T22:21:00.000-07:00

Every 24th of July we go to Canada for their celebration of Pioneer day. Judd's mom is Canadian and she still has a lot of family up there that we go spend the week with. This little town, Magrath, has a big celebration so it's kind of become a tradition to go visit Grandma and party all together. We had a lot of fun, we usually go for a week, but this year it was just a weekend, but we had SO much FUN!! on the way to canada we stopped in Great Falls, Montana to give the boys a break from the car. This is at the air port, they had a little air plane display.

Jackson was so excited to see the planes! and happy to be out of his car seat.

Me and my boys.

Doot Doo being an airplane too.

There are more posts below, keep scrolling down! (I posted in order this time)

our trip to Canada

2010-07-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

Magrath, Alberta, celebrates pioneer days with a parade, fire works, petting zoo, talent show, swimming, and carnaval extravaganza! We had a lot of fun being out with Jackson and watching him with all his cousins. (Most of Judd's brothers and sisters came up for the celbration.) We had a great time at the parade because they threw out THE BEST CANDY. Not just tootsie rolls, and dum dums. They threw out York Patties, Icies, huge succers of all kinds, lots of hard candy, toffees, wraped chocolates, fruit snacks, sour skittles! i mean you name it we got it! Jackson had so much fun running to grab the candy...he was actually kind of shy about it, which surprised me.

Judd with his dad and brother

Judd's sisters, they are SO beautiful!

Jackson with his cousin Titan...they were inseperatable! at least as far as Jackson was concerned =o)

Waterton Nat'l Park, Canada

2010-07-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

Why we were in Canada we went to Waterton (Glacier National Park) and we do it every year. Family photo op.

Jackson LOVING the river, and of course, throwing rocks in.

Judd's family and cousins always try to dam up the river. So they lift and move these huge rocks...sometimes they get whole trees.

Green Canyon and Ward Campout

2010-07-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

We had a ward campout about a month ago, and it was SO fun! Each family brought their own dinner and then Bishop made a whole bunch of cobblers, Peach, cherry, rasberry, blackberry, it was really fun. Judd played volley ball and I tried to keep tabs on Jackson who really enjoyed the HUGE Great Dane and the fire, of course. And then Porter basically had 10 mothers b/c he got passed around most of the night. I think every one had a pretty good time. I slept in the car with Porter, and Jackson started the night in the tent with JUdd, and ended up in the car with me at about 1:30 AM haha! This is Bishop George with his grand daughter, and Jackson, who was loveing to help him make the cobblers.

The next morning after everyone left we went to the swimming pool that's right there on the camp sight. Jackson LOVED LOVED LOVED it! And as you can see, Porter fell asleep in the nice warm water. He splashed around for maybe 10 min before he conked out in his floaty, and he slept like that for a good hour!!

Jackson clung to me the first 20 minutes we were there and then he slowly was able to just hold my hand, then when he got the hang of his floaties he just took off! He loved swimming on his own!...We took him to the Shelly, Id. pool last week and he jumped right in the water with his floaties on. He didn't even care that his head went under the water and he kept wanting to jump in again and again, so he has lost all fear of the water! I can't wait to do swim lessons with him! He even jumped off the diving board (with me) hehe!

Judd the studd

there are no words.....

Porter is crawling

2010-07-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

Jackson loving on his brother...they got new jamies

Jackson on top of his brother...but Porter is used to it.

AND...Drum Roll...Porter is crawling!! He has been a professional crawler for a good two weeks now, and I have to say he must not like it very much b/c he is already pulling himself off the ground! He uses his crawling only to crawl to the nearest bar stool, couch, or chair to pull himself up on! CRAZY I know!

Porter LOVES balls! how can he be so boy?! he loves the water and he is so funny. Any time we are in any kind of water, bath tub or blow up pool, I put him in sitting up, and he instantly lays on his tummy and just lounges on his tummy! kicks his legs, puts his head in the water and blows bubbles, just lays there! it's so funny.

I Love Jackson!

2010-06-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone National Park!

2010-06-24T13:10:00.001-07:00

This is some more of our trip to Yellowstone, I posted them backwards, scroll down if you want the intro, hehe.

So this is Jackson with some of his cousins that were there. That is my brother, Jared with Judd and his wife standing behind him.

This is Jackson pretending to get his hand bit off. He loved all the statues by the way. There was this big bear on it's hind legs in the center of the round about on the way to our hotel that we passed every day and he thought it was SO COOL! We didn't get a picture with it b/c Judd said we could cause an accident.

These are ALL the stairs that Jackson climbed all by himself! he did NOT want ANY help. He didn't even want me to hold his hand. Look at the very top left of the pic, that is the road where the stairs began. Jackson was a great walker the whole week. He did very good and never asked to be carried.

This is me and Jackson at the bubbling springs at Mammoth which are mostly dormant now. Judd and I came here 4 years ago and it was beautiful but they had a little earthquake a couple years ago and shifted everything so the old boardwalk is all built around dormant falls now. Below is Judd with Porter.

Yellowstone National Park!

2010-06-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Yellowstone in May. We had SO much fun. My mom got us hotel suites with a kitchen and living room which we shared with my sister and her family. We also had two of my brothers up with their families. We stayed for ONE WHOLE WEEK! We had so much fun. We stayed in West Yellowstone and we got to see the whole park. We did a little everyday. Jackson would only last until about 2:00 (when he woke up from a nap in the car.) So we would try to get up and get into the park early everyday and then by two we would come home and lounge in the hotel. They had a playground for the kids and a huge pool which we used everyday. Jackson was in heaven!!!

This is some of us looking at the mudpots. This was a nice 1/4 mile hike (roundtrip)HAHA so really short and sweet!

This is the bear and wolf museum that we went to on a day that it was raining. They had real bears and wolves and some birds it was pretty cool.

This is Jackson and Porter in the Museum sitting on a real bear rug. They had it out so you could feel what bear hair felt like

This how we toted Porter around when we were on the board walks or on short hikes. He was Daddy's buddy

and this is Jackson feeding the statue Elk his sandwhich! haha
we had a lot of FUN thankyou MOM!!!

Beans

2010-06-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

I forgot that beans are a baby friendly food! I am so happy. I know Porter is just a baby and up until now all he has had is milk all day and all night! But ever since I started babyfood, and it's been 2 months, I feel like he needs more variety in his life. What if all I had to eat for 2 whole months was just squash, sweet potatoes, carrots and peas? Oh did I say more squash? or and green beans, and squash again, and then sweet pototoes, oh wait here's some apple sauce, and squash agian...okay okay you get it...I forgot about beans! he loved them when I gave them to him today! just the really soft mushy kind that come in the can and taste like brown sugar. Oh boy! oh boy! he loved em!

I have tried meats but they make him gag. I have tried bread, which he LOVES and graham crackers too! He eat's those baby num nums but all of the above are "self eating foods" so he gets really, really messy, So I have to be in a really laid back mood to give him that stuff.

sorry this may be a borring post for most, so here's a picture.

Muscle Man

2010-06-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

He was in this bouncer, then he flipped himself out, and pushed up on it! haha! he is a strong boy...I wish I had abbs like that.

So Porter has started doing push-ups!! NO BOY slow down! I do NOT want you to crawl anytime soon! but I'm afraid it wont be long now...

And of course, as soon as Jackson saw me grab the camera he wanted to show me the push-ups he could do! I love my muscle men!

Some bath time pics

2010-06-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah! Porter is getting big enough to have a bath with Jackson. Jackson is very excited too whenever I decide to take the time to put Porter in the bath with him. It's hard for Jackson not to splash like crazy with excitment! but I think Porter is getting used to the splashes of water! Jackson's favorite thing to do is scoop up water with his toys and then dump the water out on Porter's head!!! what are big brothers for?? haha!!

too many toys!

2010-05-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

So why Jackson was gone to grandpa's house I thought I would organize (throw away) his toys. BUT, When I organized them and looked at what I wanted to get rid of, I probably only put two toy sets for the D.I. box and then only threw away 4 or 5 ruined toys...I thought I would be stronger than that, but I just couldn't get rid of any more toys!!!

Also Jackson is going to "preschool" at BYU-I. It is a great program! And they have already taught us parents so much. Some of these organizing ideas I learned from them. (Jackson goes twice a week for just over an hour and they have a two way mirror so the parents can observe their children without them knowing we are there. And I just have to say, I must be doing something right, b/c Jackson is the best behaved boy in his class, he is SO wonderful to the teachers and rarely makes conflict with the other children.) HE IS NOT LIKE THAT AT HOME!!!!!!

I put all the loose junk in groups and then put them into zip locks so he can only play with one or two at a time. (we haven't shown jackson how to open zip locks so if he wants to play with any of these toys he will have to come ask) HeeHee I can't wait! Also it dawned on me that when I go to church, now I can just quickly grab a bag! and BAM we're ready!! most of our "getting ready" for church is spent packing our bag with treats, drinks, and toys to keep Jackson entertained during sacrament meeting. And for his puzzles, each puzzle has it's own baggy for it's pieces, I thought it would be a pain to always put the pieces away but it actually is part of mine and Jacksons play time, he loves to take them out one at a time and them put them back when he is done.

These are the biggest mess makers ever! I have had the blocks in their own box since the day we got them, But then I thought DUH put the other toys in boxes too! (I think I always knew these things but was just too lazy to do it)

And here is my little helper!

2010-05-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

A Day at Grandpa's House, the one that is in Rexburg. Jackson goes out to his Grandpa's everyday that he is there. He isn't always there like I said he has another house in Utah, so his grandparents are inbetweeners right now, which is really hard for Jackson to understand...Anyway!..

This is a huge mound of dirt (they have several) and everytime we go to "pampa's house" Jackson makes a B-line for the dirt. Well today he found this old green glass bottle that he just had to fill to the top with dirt. It took him quite a while! haha! I just love this pile bc most of the other dirt piles are tiny but he discovered this one today it's a ways out in the yard and he climbed right to the top, no problem. That would be like me climbing R-mountain or something.

Okay so one of the reasons "pampa" is SO COOL, is because every once in a while he brings home these pigs! Jackson loves to see the pigs! He is completely facinated, and the fact that this trailor full of pigs is hooked to "Pampa's Ruck" makes his grampa even cooler!

Well this is Jackson trying to get a really good look at those pigs. I mean you can hear them squealing and rumbling the metal trailor, you can hear the shuffle of the hay, and you can SMELL them! Jackson can't wait to see them right? well he pokes his little eyes in and...

That big Pig nose you see sticking out of the trailor? That got him right in the face. That pig planted the hugest kiss right on Jacksons lips, and nose, and eyes (b/c his slimmy nose is practicaly the same size of Jackson's whole face!!) HAHAHA it was SOOOOO Funny! I wish I had gotten the shot on camera, but I was too slow, because trust me, Jackson did not stand there and let that pig kiss him. He was totally disgusted HAhaHA!!

aww wittle piggies

Porters Baby Blessing

2010-05-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

Okay so this is for my record. I realized a few days ago that I never published Porter's Baby Blessing. He was Blessed all the way back in January! In Lewiston, Utah in our old ward, and Judd's parent's ward. Judd gave a great blessing and we had lots of family and friends come and support us!

I love Jackson with Porter. He is still such a sweet heart with him. He loves to give his brother hugs and kisses all the time. I LOVE having TWO boys! They are such good friends already! Jackson loves to see Porter first thing every morning and Porter always smiles when he see's Jackson coming

Jackson still loves to do ANYTHING to make Porter smile and laugh. HE falls down on purpose or jumps off the couch or hits himself in the forhead, HAHA it is SO funny to watch them together and I LOVE to hear them laugh together. I'm glad in a way that I was able to post this later so I can tell all that I know now. They have had a great relationship from the very beginning...I have heard that you choose your family, whether that's true or not I don't know, but if it is true, Im positive that Porter chose our family for Jackson...apposed to his parents! haha!

!! Best Pie Crust EVER !!

2010-04-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

Okay so I found this pie crust recipe on www.allrecipes.com which is where I get all of my most fabulous recipes (except for the recipes I see on the food network, I go to www.foodnetwork.com for those, and they are exceptionally good too) I have to share this recipe with the world becuase it is so wonderful... really. I NEVER liked pie b/c the crust, well I LOVE PIE now!!!

Here's the recipe
2 cups flour
3/4 cups shortening
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup COLD water
1 Tablespoon cinnamon sugar/Onion powder

Okay SO the if your makeing a fruit pie add cinnamon sugar, if your making a chicken pot pie, add onion powder. This crust is SO good, SO flaky, SO delicioso!!!

so add flour, salt, and cinnamon/Onion Powder mix. cut in shortening. mash with spoon until the shortening balls up with the flour mix (little balls like peas) OR if you have a food processer you can just chop away. Then add the cold water. mix a tad then fold into a ball with hands. dump out on floured surface divide in two. (one for top and one for bottom)and roll out! Bake at 400 for 20 minutes!
I have used it for both chicken pot pie AND apple pie. MMMMMmmmmmmmMMM it is SOOOO GOOD!!

My Boys

2010-04-07T15:08:00.001-07:00

okay So it has been a long time. I have been very busy. doing I don't know what? But blogging obviously wasn't one of the things I was busy doing. My camera has been driving me nuts and they way my computer downloads the photos into a file I hate it. I don't want the pictures judd took of his truck in with the photos of Jackson and porter. I don't want the tractor and the things we are selling on craigslist in with the pictures of my boys but they all get uploaded together into one file I named Judd's birthday (which I only have 2 pic of) and when I look at the file there are 32 pictures! who knew? So now my file is mislabeled!

Okay anyway...aren't my boys so cute? I love seeing them together...when Jackson isn't growling at Porter or trying to scare him awake when he is trying to fall asleep, that is. They look like little cherubs with their blue eyes and fat faces! especially when they are naked!

Okay so here is a story. Lately Jackson has been LOVING to make Porter laugh. He will pretend to get hurt...and Porter will laugh!? How does Porter know that that is funny? but he squeals and then Jackson laughs b/c Porter is squealing and then Porter laughs b/c Jackson is laughing...aww I am just so happy they like eachother!

The other day Jackson would run full speed into our bed, bounce off and fall on his bum, then fall back flat on his back on purpose. Porter thought it was funny so Jackson does it again...and again, and again, seriously 14 times or something! but they were both histerically laughing by the end! SO FUNNY!

The boys LOVE their grandparents! Porter LOVES to be held by his grandma, and Jackson ADORES, ADMIRES, IS IN LOVE with his grandpa! So it works great neither have to share, I don't know what will happen when we have 3 kids. (THAT IS NOT AN ANNOUCEMENT BY THE WAY)and I don't know why Jackson has his whole hand in his mouth...but that is what he does now. he sucks on his fingers..not one, the whole hand!....maybe I should give him back his binky?

But I just love these photos. It really shows their personalities. they really do have so much fun together. And Porter LOVES Jackson...as long as I'm holding him when Jackson is near him...other wise he does kind of freak out! haha!

St Patty's Day

2010-03-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't have any pictures but I thought I would tell you what we did to celebrate.! First I got up early (which means I was really motivated for this holiday) to make green blue berry muffins. I had to get up so they would be done before Judd went to work. I also made green eggs! Which Judd almost couldn't eat and he almost threw up after. NOT because they tasted bad, but bc they really did look pretty sick! HAHA!!! But the muffins were AWSOME! and I had a breakthrough!! I didn't have enough eggs to make green eggs AND muffins so I substituted MAYO for eggs and oil! and it worked perfect. In fact they were the best muffins I have ever eaten! very moist and no trace of MAYO taste whatsoever!! (I read the proportions online were it told me that mayo is mostly oil than egg so you should never substitute it for JUST eggs for the recipe to turn out.)

THEN!! I got the boys all dressed in green, and myself as well, and we went to Library time! Where I knew they would be celebrating the holiday, since no one else seemed to be! And it was true! sort of. There was no mension of lebrachons or rainbows or clovers, which I was totally SHOCKED!! But at least almost every mom or child there was wearing green. So I knew that it must be March 17th.

No one celebrates this. Feb 14th is red day, why can't we have a green day? and as for that there should be purple and blue days too!!!! come on people don't you want to switch it up a bit? NO NO you want to live the same life everyday!! really I didn't see hardly anyone wearing green and no store sales either! The only person I knew who probably celebrated it was my neighbor, Amy who has clobers stuck to her window! I have clovers stuck to my window too!!) and my friend, Marin who showed meshe made green frosting for her brownies and green orange juice for breakfast!

Then for lunch I took Judd Pesto pasta with chicken to his work (and some more green muffins)pesto is green, for those who don't know) Judd thought I was really silly for being so green but hey it gave me somthing to do and somthing to plan and think about. I told him we had to start practicing now b/c pretty soon Jackson will believe in Leprechons and Easter Bunnies!!

So that was it. We took naps the rest of the day and for dinner we just had a normal dinner (but I did throw in green beans at Judd's sugestion, I guess he caught the spirit of the day after all) HEHE I love it when I rub off on him.

Sorry for no pictures but my memory card is full and I can't delete the pictures until I print them off at walmart!

Porter's First Book

2010-02-26T08:08:00.000-08:00

I love this stage that Porter is in. He is still little but not as fragile as when they are brand new born. He is VERY aware and I feel like he can see everything I can see in the room. AND he still sleeps quite a bit! It's fun b/c he is big enough to laugh when I tickle him and he likes to be entertained somtimes...like Judd holds him on his lap when he watches the basketball games and he is totally content watching TV! haha

So today I was running out of ideas of fun things to do with Porter. I mean I know he is still so tiny, but I think that he likes to be entertained with new things. We have the same tickle routine, the same morning routine, and tummy time is always the same...sometimes I switch the blankets he lays on so he can look at something different. I also read that you can lay them down in a room a different way so they have a different perspective, (different things to look at.)

For example... When I lay Porter in his bassinet and it's not nap time he crys almost instantly. But if I lay him in it with his head where his feet usually are, than he is happy for 5 min or more. So the other day I put him in Jackson's room on Jackson's bed...He was happy in there for probably 10-15min because he has never really been put down in there before. So it just buys me some time to get something done, or spend some alone time with Jackson. Plus it's stimulating for Porter!! it's a win win.

Anyway, this morning I thought I would read Porter a book!! I proped him up and he looked at each page! I read him exactly what it said on the page b/c I read somewhere that you should read to them even though they don't understand because your voice gets in a rhythem and they love it! well Porter LOVED it! I don't think I started reading to Jackson until he was 6 months or somthing. So Porter will have a headstart (he's only 3 months old) So now I am excited to add somthing else to out daily routine!

So if you have a little baby or are going to have a little baby there are some ideas for how to entertain them!

Nap Time

2010-02-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

This was earlier today. It is rare when I get both my boys to sleep at the same time when I am by myself. When Judd is here he rocks Porter while lye down with Jackson. But now that Judd has a job I have been alone with the boys for two straight weeks. This is the 2 time I got them down together!

I LOVE that Jackson has that screwdriver in his hand! I didn't even know he had it when he went to lye down with me and Porter. So cute! P.S. I got 2 hours of sleep today!!!!

update

2010-02-18T06:51:00.000-08:00

This is Porter with his newest cousin Ella Jane Wood. My brother had his first little baby 2 weeks ago! Both he and I were amazed at the difference three months makes in their size.

She is Tiny! Judd took these pics and didn't get a full body shot of both of them, but Porter is twice at big or wide, and like 5 or 6 inches longer!! Daniel, my brother, was SO sad to see that in three short months his little girl would be a monster! Don't Blink!

We pulled the shelves out of this little book case because and Jackson crawled in to hammer at the pegs that hold the shelves up. It was SO cute!

Then we realized he fit perfectly inside this box. We could put a lid on it and ship him somewhere... if we wanted to that is.

Happy Valentines day to me and my boys. Porter's pants match Jackson's vest, but you can't tell from the picture. Anyway, they are the cutest pair of brothers that I have ever seen! Porter is so smiley all the time. He is so different than Jackson was with his smiles and laughs. He is very generous with them. I think I would go crazy at least once a day without his smiles, they really make me feel so good about myself. And I know he would smile at anyone that walked through that door and picked him up but I feel like that when he smiles at me they are just mine, just for me. My little boys made valentines special...since Judd didn't. haha

Porter Three Months Old!

2010-02-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

My little Smiley Riley, Porter, is three months old today! He is growing so fast! He is 13 lbs and 24 inches long! We are so proud of him. He is SO aware and loves to be held. He is just as spoiled as Jackson was! He is awake for hours at a time now and still sleeps for hours at a time, but I think he has settled into a nightly routine! He eats at 10 or 11 and then doesn't wake up until 5am! then he goes into 2 hour feeding mode until noon. No matter how long or how much I feed him at 5 in the morning, he always wants to eat again at 7am!

His mommy giving him kisses! He as a tiny little bean doesn't he?

Here is a good upclose shot!

Jackson was two lbs heavier at this age and the same length!

Happy 3 months!

MOTLEN LAVA CAKES!

2010-02-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

Last night was our Relief Society activity and I wanted to make these Molten Lava Cakes! But I knew it would take some experamenting because they are best when baked in individual custard dishes and I didn't have any. (Which is now a new item on my wishlist.) All I have are muffin cup pans. So I started making them early. I knew I would need to bake them for less time because the muffin cups are about half the size of a custard cup. So I made the batter and used most of it to fill one sheet of muffins, so 12. And I put them in for 12 minutes. I was SO excited, I popped them out of the muffin cups and cut into them waiting for the chocolate lava to OOOoze out and nothing! I had baked them too long! Just barely. So I was out of eggs and chocolate and was wondering if it was worth going to the store JUST for these. It only took me 5 minutes to decide, Yes!

So I made the batter again and decided to use my OTHER muffin tin, becuase this tin was dark (Which I hate! I hate to bake anything on those dark pans! cookies, cakes, the edges and bottoms ALWAYS turn black, when everything else is perfect. It makes everything look UGLY. So don't buy dark pans, or dark muffin tins, or dark cookie sheets! don't do it!) And I noticed the muffin cups were slightly bigger on this sheet.

Another mistake: with the first batch I only filled them half full and some 2/3 full to see how much they would puff out of the muffing cup. They didn't rise AT ALL. (duh to me, I made them and there is no baking pwd or baking soda, so of COURSE they wouldn't rise!) So this time I filled them almost to the very top and baked then for 10 min. on the dot. and.....Vuala! they turned out purfect. Better yet I finished them 10 min before it was time to go.

and guess what? Not a single one was left! They all got eatten. Which I feel like I deserve since I had to make them twice! haha

Practice makes perfect!

About ME

2010-02-08T12:24:00.000-08:00

Okay so I saw this on a blog and thought I would copy it. So here goes,
8 Shows I watch. Not really in any order

1. Diner's Drive-Inns and Dives
2. Every day Italian
3. How it's Made
4. Rachel Ray 30 minute meals
5. HGTV
6. Okay it's true, sometimes I like to watch ICarly
7. American Idol
8. Biggest Loser

8 favorite restaurants, again not in any order

1. Cafe Rio, over Bajio anyday
2. all you can eat pizza buffet, doesn't have to be craigos
3. applebee's
4. my sister in law took me to Mr. Pizza in Shelly, it was dang good and really cheap too.
5. Pappa Murphys, okay so some of these aren't restaurants
6. Any place with ribs mmmm-mm
7. I love to try new places, we went to 5 guys burger and fries, that was good
8. I was recently told about Gator Jacks in Rigby, I want to try that next
We really don't go out to eat too much, money is tight. But we LOVE TO COOK!

8 Things that happened yesterday

1. Went to church and taught SunBeams!
2. Played Play-Do with Jackson
3. Changed a couple of baby's diapers, haha
4. Watched Julie and Julia (about Julia Child)
5. Made some mean Pork Chops and Had the Engel's over
6. Made skookies with our cast iron pans we got for christmas from Mom and Dad, Thanks again!
7. Put Jackson to bed, It took an HOUR...that boy!

8 Things I look forward too

1. Judd had a promising job interview today and got it! I hope this job works out
2. Judd has another job interview tomorrow, I hope it works out if this one doesn't
3. I'm going to make and decorate Valentine cookies today with Jackson when he wakes up from his nap!
4. THE SUNSHINE come-a, come-a, come-a!
5. My hair growing out again
6. I look forward to playing board games! We try to put our kids to bed and then have people over to play games. Blockus, Train game, anything really (we just like to have distractions!)
7. I started writing my sister one letter a week. I look forward to writing her! (She is pregnant and she is basically bedridden)
8. starting a work-out routine, because there is no way I'm going on a diet!

8 things on my wish list

1. 3 bedroom apartment or house.
2. Jackson and Porter to sleep through the night
3. More money so I can buy more ingredients to cook
4. A cooking class
5. cubboard space so I can have all my kitchen ware in my apartment and not in storage
6. a newer minivan with leather and a DVD player to play movies!!
7. money to buy crafts, fabric, beads, etc.
8. to live in a warm place

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY

2010-01-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

Two days ago, January 20th, Was Jackson's Birthday! We started the morning at 7:15 which I would normally yell at him to go back to bed, but instead I got up and turned on his favorite cartoons while I made him these Micky Mouse pancakes!

He was WAY excited to eat them. Micky Mouse is probably the only pancake that I could make that he would actually be able to recognise! haha! he thought they were great.

Then! Our ward does a social group! And there happened to be a meeting on his birthday so I took cup cakes and we had all the kids sing happy birthday to him why he got to blow out the candles!! YOU should have seen his face. He thought he was SO special! It was awsome!

Then that night we had a big family party. Judd made sweet, sweeeeeet pork, and I made "cafe Rio" beans and rice. And we had these delicious burritos! I made Jackson this dragon cake, which I am SO proud of. Mostly because Judd didn't think I could do it. But VUALA!! there it stands!

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, Jackson loved his cake too. Look at that smile! We relit the candles a few times because he just LOVED blowing them out!...to see more birthday, keep scrolling down!

2010-01-22T13:59:00.000-08:00

Jackson loved tearing into his presents! He knew just what to do because he got lots of practise at Christmas time.

OooOOo The Jungle Book. This is one of his most favorite movies! (The other is Lady and the Tramp and the movie Up)

This is a lovely Tshirt his Uncle Juston and soon-to-be Aunt Nicole got him when they went to New York City over Christmas break!

WOO HOOO! this was the biggest hit of the night! Grandma found Jackson a "Steel Stork" Car Carrier! He loves this toy and he played with it all night and all day the next day and today too! I got him that plastic one that's red from the dollar store. Boy does he just love the "Steel Stork" one! Grandma's know best!

Thanks everyone for celebrating another year with our little boy Jackson. Look at him, he is just SO proud to be TWO!

birthday continued

2010-01-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

Jackson in his Grandpa's arms. He is a proud TWO year old!!

Jackson loved to open presents. He knew just what to do (christmas time was good practise)

Okay, so not the best picture of Jackson, HAHA but this was by far his favorite present of the night, a steel stork car carrier. oOOoooOOo he loves to play with this!! Thanks grandma and grandpa

This is from Uncle Juston and Aunt Nicole. They went to New York for christmas and brought Jackson home this lovely T-shirt.

This is another GREAT gift. Jackson loves the Jungle Book. Now he has his very own!

My Naky Boys

2010-01-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

Porter is doing great. You can tell by that huge smile! We took him to his WIC appointment yesterday and he weighed 11 pounds! he is two months on the 16th. His length was 22 1/2 inches! So he is a growing boy. He gained TWO pounds this month...Jackson was 11lbs at 1 month haha! but it is SO fun to see Porter watch me walk around the room. He follows me with his eyes so well. He smiles EVERY time he sees me. And when he smiles really big he has a dimple. I hope that sticks and it's not just a dimple from fat.My Naky boys. Jackson is still doing SO well with him. He loves him SO much. Almost every time Jackson throws a tizzy fit and we draw his attention to Porter he stops crying instantly and starts smiling. He sings songs to Porter. He talks to him. He says "hello" to him every morning. He loves to cuddle him. It is just SO funny!
But Judd's mom, Sue, says that Judd was JUST LIKE THAT with his brothers and sister...So tender. It really makes my days easier to see them bonding so well. . . It also makes me want to have more kids. HAHA but don't worry we are still waiting a while.

HAPPY 1 MONTH BIRTHDAY

2009-12-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

Today at 7:40 PM Porter will be 1 month old!! He has grown so much since we brought him home from the hospital. He can focus really well on our faces now and look into our eyes. Which is really fun and special. He is also getting pretty strong. He is a very sweet baby and LOVES to be held. He will never fuss if he is being held! AND today he started smiling at me when I coo at him. He really can smile! it's not gas or muscle spasms, everytime I coo he gets a smile. It's so cute, what a special gift to me for his 1 month birthday. Jackson didn't smile at us for cooing at him until he was 3 months old!..just a difference in personality! Porter also nurses longer. Jackson just gulped the milk down! Porter also has a cute little cry, like a lamb!
So I thought I would do a little comparrison between him and Jackson. I have Jackson's baby book and I have a picture of him at 1 month. I also have the same outfit that the picture was taken in so I put it on Porter and snapped the camera! They look so much alike to me in person..but the pictures show differences. the angles are different, and Porter's hair is fluffed out because I just gave him a bath, so it's kind of distracting. ANYWAY there are differences..I just can't tell you what they are.

Porter on top and Jackson on bottom. Remember the angles are different and so is the coloring.

They both have my nose, my lips, my cheeks, judd's eyes, judd's hair line, judd's brow... I think Jackson was just more chubby, haha! and that is the difference. Jackson is 11lbs in his picture and Porter is 91/2 lbs.

Jackson

2009-12-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

Okay how could you NOT love this smilie face?

Jackson and I built a tower of lego blocks today and he had a lot of fun bringing out the old toys

Porter's contribution...okay so I stuck that block in his hand. I am such a poser!

It's a pretty awsome tower huh? mostly I am posting to let you know I think Jackson is happy to have his mom back. The last few days I have been able to give him about an hour of just one on one attention where we play together. Not watch TV (which we have been doing A LOT of since the little babe got here) So he has been a happier boy. Now I need to work on making it be around the same time everyday so he can depend on it.

I just want to say I LOVE BEING A MOM OF TWO BOYS!! It is SO fun. I love it when I have BOTH of them on my lap. Or when they are BOTH snuggling me in my bed...of course it's not all fun and snuggles. But those times sure make up for the lack of sleep, and the crankiness (that applys to me, Jackson, Porter, AND Judd!) I just love to look at them together. And just imagine all the fun stuff they are going to get to do together. All the stuff Jackson is going to get to teach his little brother.

Porter with his brother

2009-12-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken at 3AM after I fed Porter I stuck him in Judd's pit instead of in his own crib since Jackson was in bed with us too. I dont think Judd even knew. He NEVER wakes up when I feed Porter or when I change his diaper, or when I turn the light on, or when I have to change his whole outfit bc he pooped on everything! Anyway I couldn't pass the photo op.

Okay so the last two nights we have had Jackson in our bed with us becuase he has had a night cough so he doesn't sleep good at night. Jackson is also in his own big boy bed and he does well except if he wakes up at night it is impossible to get him to go back to his own bed. Well he doesn't ever really wake up except sinse he's had this cough. ANYWAY he has slept better with us since he's been sick. So we have had both boys in our bed last night (we usually don't have Porter in their either) So it's been really fun.

The next few pics are of just the brothers...tender, I konw.

These are blurry, sorry!

Sweet Porter

2009-12-09T10:23:00.000-08:00

I thought this one was a good profile shot.

Porter is doing very well. We just had a WIC appointment yesterday and they weighed and measured him. 3 weeks old and he has gained 1 pound and grown 2 inches!! I know it's crazy! He is now the exact size that Jackson was when he was born.

everything is going well with recooperating and nursing. The adjustment to two kids was WAY easier than I thought it would be. It's hard, but not at bad a all. Judd has been working with the temp. agentcy in I.F. until we find a better job, so I have had a good few days alone with the boys and it's been just fine.

Pictures with family

2009-11-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

Judd's sisters came up for a few hours from Utah just to see Porter! These are the cousins on the Riley's side (missing Triston and Jackson) All boys! so Porter fits right in

The chunk with the Navyblue overalls on is only 4 months older! Porter better fill out quick like his cousin or he's going to get squashed!

Aunt Julie with Porter

Aunt Jami with Porter. They LOVED him. It made me so proud. They just thought he was so special and great! I love my sisters they sure now how to make a new mother feel good and extra proud about her little baby.

There are more pictures of fam. keep scrolling down! Thankyou everyone who has come to see us, we have been hermits in our apartment to keep the babe out of the whether and out of the flu season. We love you and love that you care so much to take the time to drive so far. Rexburg is in the middle of nowhere!

Porter with all the family

2009-11-28T20:26:00.000-08:00

My Dad and mom came up Today, for a few hours to get a glimpse of their newest grandson. (Number 30) Jackson LOVED having his grandpa there, and Grandmama loved holding the tiny baby. We got to spend 4 or 5 sweet hours with them as the were "passing through" to Provo from Boise...

I love how obsessed Jackson is with Porter!

Porter giving his grandma Colleen, my mom, kisses. Mom stayed with us for 10 days! and cooked SO much good food! Thankyou mom!

Aunt Jenny, Judd's littlest sister, who came to visit in the Hospital, and who has been back to see Porter many times since.

Juston, Judd's littlest brother, and Nicole who also came to visit in the hospital. And Grandma and Grandpa Riley were there and hour after he was born and helped with his first little bath, but I don't have any pictures of them....But we have video of that.

Porter and More...

2009-11-22T20:17:00.000-08:00

My three boys. They are really sleeping in these pictures. I LOVE this one^

I never saw myself being a mom of boys....But my mom was a mom of boys. (5) So the more I have the more of a natural I become. I really do want at least one little girl, but if all the rest were boys I would love my life.

Jackson and Porter Riley

2009-11-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

Jackson has done extremely well with Porter! He LOVES HIM! He always wants to talk to him and hug him and kiss him. It is so funny. Judd and I didn't really do a lot of talking about the baby because I didn't want to confuse him to thinking that mommy's tummy was called baby. Plus he doesn't say much himself so I just didn't know how to explain things. But we did mension the baby. The baby's bassinet was out for quite a while and we would tell him that he couldn't get in it, it was for baby. Or we would show him baby toys, or show him the baby's at church and say we were going to get a baby soon....

So I just thought he would be CLUELESS. But he wasn't It's like he knew all along that the baby was coming When he holds him he really has this protective look in his eye, like he knows he is going to have to take care of him and show him the ropes...I know It has only been a few days since we brought him home from the hospital, but Jackson's response to his little brother continues to just be wonderful!! ...Maybe he thinks he's going home when Grandma does? After all he came the same time she did? Or maybe he's just patiently waiting for the day he wakes up and baby isn't here anymore? ...Or maybe my prayers came true that I would have a little boy that loves babys as much as his Dad does.

Our Sweet Porter who looks just like his brother did when he was born! I have MAJOR flashbacks everyday.

I LOVE MY ANGEL BOYS...and when I get frustrated with them I will have to re-read this blog.

Porter Wood Riley

2009-11-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

Porter arrived a healthy 8 lbs 6 oz 19 inches. He was born the 16th at 20 til eight. He is doing well and Sarah is great too. We are so happy to have Porter here! Here are a some pictures from his first day. I am sure Sarah will write much more.

Baby News

2009-11-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

I knew that if I titled it "baby news" that it would catch people's attention. HaHa. Anyway there is some news. At my last Dr's appt. He said I was a good candidate to be induced early if I wanted. So since in the last few weeks you always feel like crap, b/c your tired from chasing an almost 2 year old, and you ache all over in places you didn't know existed...and you just don't sleep at night for the last month anyway I decided Heck, if can make it end sooner why not? If you've ever been pregnant, you know how the last month is! ANYWAYS since everything is going so well and Jackson was 9 lbs, he said I could go a whole week early!! So I am going in on Monday to be induced!! Nov 16, 2009. Yup, I get to meet this little boy in 2 days...if not sooner. The Dr said he wouldn't be surprised if he saw me sooner, but we'll see!
So we have gotten our carpets cleaned. I am whipping down all the door knobs and counters and things with bleach. I washed the baby clothes. packed Jackson's bag to go to Grandma's and we are just waiting for Monday! I can't believe we are going to be a family of 4! CRAZY!! and I will post pictures of him as soon as we can! love you all.
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy Marin, Marge, and Kat, I'm bailing!

NO WORDS for this. . .

2009-11-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

When we give Jackson a bath we are in and out of the bathroom. Always in ear's reach. (he can take some really long baths b/c he likes to play) ANYWAY the last few nights have been really frustrating because I will leave the bathroom for one second and when I come back I find ALL of our towels in the bath tub with him!

SO the second night I thought, I will move the towels on top of the counter so he can't reach them from the tub. Well the second night he must have gotten out of the tub and grabbed the towels because, once again, I found all the towels in the tub with him again. (a lot of laundry)

So the third night I think I will pull the towels off and just put them on the kitchen counter... So he's in the tub. I'm in and out, getting his Milk warmed up in the microwave, getting his PJ's out, the normal stuff. checking on him in the tub. When I see his naked little body digging in the cupboard where we keep our fresh folded towels and he is pulling them out and dragging them toward the tub!!!! LUCKILY I caught him this time. So I say, "Your done, bath time, over." I dry him off bring him into the living room and lotion him. Put on a fresh diaper and his clean PJ's....

SO obviously you can guess what happened next by the picture below. I forgot to drain the tub! and I was distracted, TV maybe? When I hear a splash and realize my worst fear for that evening. I knew it wasn't the towels in the tub this time....IT WAS JACKSON!!!!! sometimes he drives me NUTS!
But then Judd saves the day (I mean, my sanity,) when he comes in to see, and starts laughing, because he remembers a picture of me in the same situation when I was about Jackson't age. He reminds me and tells me to grab the camera so we can put the pictures side by side....So here are the results.

Side note: notice I don't have any toys in my tub...But I have jacuzi jets! haha

Jackson Knows How To Use Makeup

2009-11-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

There just aren't words. I sure love him!

Our Halloween!

2009-11-02T10:40:00.000-08:00

Okay so I posted these backwards. So I will just tell you what we did backwards. =o)First we went to a ward party. After we went out to Jackson's Grandma's house where his cousin Triston (Jack's boy) was there in his superman costume. So we took a few pictures. We had chili and cake and Ice-cream and just watched the boys play together (okay more like watched Jackson maul Triston, but the little super boy stood his ground)

Our cave man at our little halloween party. I was surprised that there weren't that many people at the ward party. The ones who came though had some great costumes. We did a doughnut eating contest and I know the camera was right in my face as I was trying to devour this doughnut on a string! so check out the ward blog for some really embarrassing photos!

I think I just loved Jackson's hair like this. It was my favorite part of his costume!...earlier in the day we went to our grocery store to go trick or treating and they all loved him, they gave him lots of candy!

I thought the costume suited Jackson perfectly since he doesn't really talk, he just grunts! haha! This is our only fam pic. It's a bad one, but you get the idea. Judd brought that lion to the ward party and Jackson carried it with him everywhere. It was pretty funny.