The Stephens Fam

Great Grandma Stephens Dresses

2012-01-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

Great Grandma Stephens made these beautiful dresses for Brystol to wear!! She looks so cute in them and we just love that she made them for us!! Grandma is so talented when it comes to sewing. It means so much to me that she takes the time to make things for my kids!! Thankyou Grandma for making us look so beautiful!!

Brystol has the biggest smiles and just loves to pose for the camera! She is such a special addition to our family and we are very lucky to have her sweet personality about us!!

Kids Playing soccer

2012-01-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

The kids got a soccer ball and some cones for Christmas so they wanted to play a little!! They just love to be outside!!

Rams

2012-01-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

These rams were on the side of the road up North Fork. They were really fun to see. So close to the road. There were about 50 of them. The kids really like to see animals!!

Brystol and Mom

2012-01-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

I took these with my new camera one day messing around. Look at those cheeks...she is so sweet!!

Brystol the pistol

2012-01-04T20:53:00.002-07:00

Brystol chowing down on one of Sunnys YUMMY cookies!!!

Crazy Kids

2012-01-04T20:47:00.002-07:00

Christmas!!!

2012-01-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

Christmas was a wonderful day!! Of course Christmas Eve night we read the Christmas story and the kids got to open their new PJ's!! Grandma Leetham read us a cute story about a reindeer and wishes and started a new tradition of what we wish for every year!

This year we had a family Elf that we named Kindle. The kids loved him! He went to the North Pole to tell Santa how the kids were that day then he came home and hid in a new spot and the kids had to find him every morning!!

On Christmas morning the kids got up at 530 waking everyone up in the house!! We came and opened presents where we were spoiled again!! Jake got a new smoker and a jerky maker where he had to restrain himself the rest of the morning from just going out and using them both. I got a new camera and some cute boots and a makeup case that i wanted!! The kids got guitars and clothes and barbies and monster trucks and blankets and magic eight balls (remember those!!) and movies!! They were definitely spoiled.

Then we went to church and had a wonderful meeting!! Christmas night we had the Merritts over for dinner. It was Delicious as always. Then the Berrys came over for dessert and Games!! Abram is the master at the games!! It was a great day spent with family and friends and a great way to end the 2011 year!!

Tagg opening his PJs

Kate opening hers

Papa and Brystol

Stocking goodies

Presents

Jakes toy

Brystols present

Kelsey and Grandma Leetham

Brystol and Tagg in all the Christmas mess

Kate in her new blanket Grandma Leetham made.

Christmas Tree cutting

2012-01-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

We decided to cut our own Christmas tree this year!!! We did last year and loved it so we went again. We all bundled up and set out on our hunt!! Jake took us to a beautiful spot that had lots of trees. We ended up being really close to a heard of deer which was really cool. We hiked and hiked and hiked to find our perfect tree!! The kids were such troopers. We were hiking through thigh high snow (thigh high on me) and the kids did not complain once!! Kate was a dog most of the time and believe it or not she had the easiest time in the snow!! Brystol just loved being outside!!!

Jake was so good to drag the tree all the way back to the car!! He is amazing!!

Kate and Brystol

Kate in the snow

Our perfect tree!!

Brystol kate and tagg

My beautiful kids in the beautiful mountains

Taggs Birthday

2012-01-04T18:22:00.000-07:00

Tagg had a great birthday!!! He thought he was so special because he had a birthday in Utah with Gma and Papa Leetham and then we had another on in Wyoming with all our friends. He got every thing he wanted for his birthday!! He is such a special boy and we are so lucky to have him in our lives!! Here are 4 things we love about Tagg:

1. He is very playful

2. He Loves anything his dad does

3. He is very helpful around the house

4. He loves his sisters

Brystol and the Bear

2011-11-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

Brystol and Jakes Bear

Brystol showing the bear whos boss

Halloween

2011-11-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Halloween is such a fun Holiday for the kids!! This year the kids went downtown and went trick or treating!! They loved it and had so much fun. Kate was a cat, Tagg was a bat, Brystol was a lady bug, Kash was superman, Kali was bat woman, and Kori was a bunny!!! After downtown we went to the Merritts and had soup and bean dip and waited for the 5 trick or treaters that came to get candy!!

Kate Brystol Kash Kori Kali

Kate and Brystol

Kori Kash Kate Kali Little Sunny Brystol Tagg

Carving pumpkins

2011-11-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

We love carving pumpkins!! Tagg got to carve pumpkins in twice this year. First was at his preschool. He made a bat pumpkin! They drew pictures of their pumpkins and guessed if a pumpkin seed would sink of float in water and drew what the insides of their pumpkins looked liked!!

Then we got to carve them at home too with Dad. The kids had a fun time picking out different shapes for the pumpkins. Mom did a spider, kate did a dog, Tagg and dad did a vampire and little Brystol did a silly pumpkin face!!

Kali with her pumpkin

Tagg with his pumpkin

Sunny and Kali

Kate helping Brystol with her pumpkin

Tagg cleaning out his pumpkin

Brystol just had fun with the stem of the pumpkin

Our big gut pile, Tagg and Dad

George Farm

2011-11-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors have a huge dairy farm and they invited us to go visit and check it out!! Tagg and his friend Sam went and had so much fun!!

We started off by having lunch and waiting until the rain stopped! The rain finally let up so we headed out to the farm. When we got there our friend Grant showed us all around the farm. We first went into where they milk the cows and saw all the big machines they use and the huge tank they store the milk in. Then we headed to see the chickens and gather some eggs!! One of the chickens scared Sam when he went in there!!

Then after the chickens we saw a bunch of huge tractors and trucks that they use on their farm! Then we went to see the baby cows that had just been born!!! The boys got to climb right into the pen! Then we went to pick some corn to eat out of their field!! We had such a fun time and loved to learn about the farm!!

Tagg learning about milking cows

Sam Berry

Tagg in front of the huge tractor wheel

Tagg and Sam in with the baby cow

Sam picking corn

Tagg picking corn

Tagg climbing out of the cows pen

The eggs we got from the chickens

Camping with the Merritts!

2011-11-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

Over the first weekend in September we went camping with our good friends the Merritts. We went to Star Valley and it was beautiful! We always have such a good time with them!! Luckily we did not go on any death marches and Randy got to keep his limbs!! Ha! We went looking for fish in the river saw lots of animals and even celebrated Jakes birthday in the process!

We wanted to get out one more time before it got way to cold!! Randys parents joined us too camping and were really awesome to camp with. They even hauled up the trailer before we got there so me and sunny and the little ones would have a warm place to sleep!!

On the way back home through Yellowstone there was a huge fire. It was a beautifully chilling sight!

Brystol

Kate in the water

Tagg

Randy Kali Tagg Kash Jake

Jake Kate Kali

Linds Brystol

Brystol on the Horse

2011-11-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

Brystol loves being outside with the family!!! She was so cute sitting on the horse!! I hope she grows up loving them as much as her family does!!

Updates....

2011-11-04T15:31:00.001-06:00

I know its been awhile....I am in the process of updating my blog....its much needed!!! Check tomrrow and there will be a whole bunch more posts!!!

Camping Fun

2011-08-16T22:49:00.000-06:00

Brystol

We went camping with Sunny and Randy up in the big horns!! It was so beautiful and the kids loved being up in the mountains!! We had so much fun. We went for a hike and went fishing and played in the dirt and saw lots moose. I have only seen one moose in my life and on this trip we saw 5!! Our family always has so much fun in the outdoors. We love camping with the Merritts!! The kids had so much fun together!!! Its always alot of work to get ready to go camping but its always worth it. Its so beautiful and calming!! There is no doubt in my mind that God created such a beautiful place, and we are so fortunate to be able to experience it!!!

Brystol all ready for camping

Dad and Tagg sitting by the campfire

Kash Tagg Kate Kali

Beautiful Kori

Brystol and mom

Jake Tagg and Kash catching a fish

Randy and Kash

The girls were wore out!! Miss Kori taking a snooze.

Brystol Joining her.

Some moose we saw

Jake and Kate

The dreaded 5K

2011-08-16T22:19:00.000-06:00

The day after we got back from Utah we woke up and ran in a 5K!! We ran it with our friends Sunny and Randy. Randy and Jake ran in the 10K and me Sunny and the kids ran the 5K. We were about halfway through the race and were going up a big hill and the kids were in the stroller. We were most of the way up the hill and the stroller started to tip backwards so I tried to keep it from falling and the kids from getting hurt. Needless to say the kids didn't get hurt but I ended up getting stitches in my lip and my face was scratched up and my hand was ground down pretty good.

Later that day we had a bunch of friends over for a BBQ and fireworks so it ended up being a fun day.

Cute kids before the race

Jakes Race

2011-08-16T22:04:00.000-06:00

Jake had his Logan Peak Trail run that is 28 miles in the mountains of Logan Utah. He trained hard and was ready to kill it!! But the day before the race they sent out an email saying the trail was to dangerous to go the whole way so they were going to cut it short. Then on the race morning they announced that the race had to be cut down to just 11 miles. There was so much snow up there that it was not accessible to the runners.

Many were disappointed and Jake wished it wasn't cut down but had a positive attitude about it and was going to just run as hard as he could!! I went to the starting line and watched him start and then went back to my aunts house to pick up the kids, and then me and the kids came back to see him finish. Jakes parents came to see him race too. We were sitting at the finish line watching some of the runners coming in and they had blood and gashes all over their legs. The last couple miles of the trail were snowy and alot of people were slipping!! Finally Jake came in and he looked so good. He is such an inspiration to me!! I don't know how he can push himself so hard!! He loves to mountain run!

Getting ready to run

Look at my hot man

Setting off

Almost finished

Done...(Hes behind the lady) time: 2:49:33

Utah Trip

2011-08-16T21:51:00.000-06:00

We always have so much fun when we go down to Utah!! The kids love going to see grandmas and grandpas and cousins. We started off this trip to Utah in Logan!! Jake had a race up there so we visited Great Grandma and Grandpa Stephens and also Aunt Chris and Uncle Rick!! We had so much fun up there. We visited the heritage center to see grandpas workshop. He let the kids pick out a toy that he carved himself!! The kids loved it

Then we went to Utah county to see G & G Leetham and G&G Stephens. The kids just love love love visiting grandmas and Grandpas. We had alot of fun bowling, swimming, jumping, horse riding and playing with cousins.

Tagg

Kate

Great Grandpa Stephens workshop

Riding horses with Grandpa Stephens

Bowling with Grandma Leetham

Swimming with cousins

Silly Tagg

Beautiful Kate

Brystols Blessing

2011-08-07T17:42:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we had Brystols blessing!! It was such a good blessing and Jake did a good job giving it to her. We had so many family and friends come in for the weekend and share in this wonderful experience!! Brystol is very blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people!! Her blessing dress was mine and her great Grannie Ellis made it for me when i was blessed. It was so fun to see her being blessed in it!! She looked so beautiful and peaceful! Jake blessed that she would be a happy influence to the people she come in contact with and that she will find a husband she can get married in the temple with!! She is already such a happy baby and we would not be the same family without her!!

Our cute family, Kate Brystol me Tagg and Jake

Linds Brystol and Jake

Already posing for the camera

Such a beautiful face

Smiles

Her precious little feet

The Kiddos

2011-07-13T20:09:00.000-06:00

My Dad took these pictures when they came up to see Brystol!! They turned out so cute!! The Kids were in such a good mood to take pictures so we got alot!! Brystol was 2 weeks old in these pictures and Kate just had a birthday and is 6 and Tagg is 3!!

Brystol 2 Weeks

Kate wanted Brystol to take a picture with this Hippo

Tagg Brystol Kate

Aunt Kelsey and Brystol

Grandma Brystol and Papa Leetham

Tagg

Kate really wanted to take a picture with her new birthday bike

Tagg Kate

Horses

2011-07-08T12:33:00.000-06:00

The kids always love riding horses with Jake!!! Right before Brystol was born they got to ride the horses around the pasture. The kids loved it. They had their awesome cowboy hats and boots on!! Jake teaches them so many good things that will stick with them throughout their lives. He teaches them hard work and compassion toward animals. It is really great to see those three working together on something they both love so much!!

Cowgirl Kate

I did bo's hair....Kate laughed because he is a boy horse not a girl one.

Kate, she will make a good rodeo queen.

Tagg helping dad brush bo out after riding.

My cute cute kids.

Introducing.....Brystol Stephens!!!

2011-06-09T18:43:00.000-06:00

Our sweet baby girl is finally here!!! Brystol Stephens was born on June 7, 2011 at 5:46 PM. She was 8 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long! She took her time getting here and has been such a good baby! She rarely cries and is a great eater with big beautiful eyes that calm the soul! Kate and Tagg just love holding her and fight over whos turn it is!! They are great older siblings and will be such a big help to there baby sister!!

Coming home from the hospital

Kate and Brystol hanging out on the floor

The boys lovin on Brystol

Already sucking her thumb like her big sister

My awesome wonderful family

Me and mom hanging out at 3 AM

Good morning world

So Sweet Brystol

7 Years!!

2011-05-10T18:57:00.001-06:00

On May 8th Jake and I have been married for 7 years. He is such a wonderful husband and he works so hard for our family so that I don't have too!! He is so sweet and kind and thinks of everybody but himself. He is such a great father to our children! He is strong, intelligent, caring, HOT, loving, funny, hard working, and a great friend!

I could not imagine my life without him and everything he does for me and our kids! I have two kids with this wonderful man and one more on the way in 5 more weeks!! I hope that our kids grow up to be just like him. It makes me smile every time I see our kids playing with him and wanting to be just like him. He is a great Dad!!

I Love you Babe!!

Easter

2011-04-26T10:28:00.002-06:00

We had so much fun at Easter!! Before we left Utah we colored eggs at grandmas house!! The kids loved it. They missed having Dad there but he boiled some eggs so when we got back we could do it with him!! After the eggs were dry the kids put eyes and monster stickers on the eggs and thought that was way funny!!
Then we drove back to Wyoming just in time for Easter. The Easter bunny came and the kids had so much fun. They both got bows and arrows for Easter and had so much fun finding eggs in the pasture. Then they shot their bows all day long with their Dad!! It was such nice weather that the kids had a water gun fight with Jake. They thought that was so awesome! They ate so much candy I finally had to hide it so they couldnt just have it when they wanted.
I made a ham dinner for Easter and was very proud of myself for getting a holiday dinner together by myself. I may just be able to do this after all!! Ha ha.

Kates Tongue after a ring pop

Kate filling up her water guns getting ready for a water fight

Tagg Getting his water gun ready

Kates getting squirt by her Dad

Kates new bow

Tagg and Kate

Tagg has been wanting a bow for so long

Finding Easter Eggs

Tagg happy to be coloring Eggs

Kate coloring Eggs

Lots of Eggs

Animals

2011-04-25T11:35:00.000-06:00

The geese

Kate and Tagg on the horse

Kate and Tagg feeding the Geese trying to get them to come closer

Tagg feeding the baby Cow

We went to a neighbors house for conference on sat and the kids loved it!! They have a ton of animals and lots to do. The day was really windy and cold but it was still fun to be out there with the animals!!! They had a new baby cow and the kids got to feed him. Kate wouldn't touch it but Tagg loved to hold the bottle while he ate! Then we fed the geese some food! Then we saddled up the horses and went for a little ride!! The kids loved it! We had a lot of fun looking at all the animals.

First Tooth

2011-03-23T18:14:00.002-06:00

Katelynn lost her first tooth!!! She wouldn't let anybody touch it or even come close to it so it was loose for almost 4 months!!! She finally got it to come out one night when we were reading scriptures! She was playing with it and then just spit it on the floor and we had to find it again!
Its amazing to me that such a small thing in a child's life can bring such joy!! She was so excited that the tooth fairy would come and i am pretty sure she went to bed at like 6:30 just so she could fall asleep and get money!! But I don't think that she actually fell asleep until like 9:30. It was almost like Christmas morning!!
She is getting so big and growing up so fast. Kate loves kindergarten and is such an amazing reader! She loves to read and write anything she can get her hands on. Last month she got the academic and caring award for her class at school! Her teacher tells me all the time how sweet and helpful she is to her and the other students!

Hawaii

2011-02-19T15:44:00.004-07:00

We had so much fun in Hawaii!! I love being on the beach!! Jake got to spear fish and surf and we snorkeled together!! The fruit there was awesome and I miss it!! Its not so fun when your pregnant and craving something that it an eight hour plane ride away!!! Everything was so beautiful and the weather was wonderful!!

Sunset on the first day!!

Dinner at Dukes!! I tried the fish there and Jake was proud of me!!

Jakes Gimpy foot covered in sand. I have to admit that it is kinda cute when it looks like this!!

We stoped in this bay on our way to North Shore!

I loved the way the waves looked when it came over the rocks!

At the dole plantation!!

Jake learning to surf! It was his first time doing anything like this! He loved it! Next time he gets a chance he will be pro!! He is always good at anything he does.

I love the clouds!!

Last day on the beach!! Wish we didn't have to leave but glad we are home!!

Utah

2011-02-11T14:08:00.003-07:00

We made it to Utah at about 7 AM!! It was a fun surprise for our family! The kids did such a great job on the drive. They slept the whole time and were awesome. When we got to Utah we went to Jakes parents house and dropped off our dogs and said hi then headed down to my parents house to say hi for just a sec! Then jake and I went up to his parents house to take a nap before we ran around like crazy that day!! The kids played with the new puppy we got and we slept!!
When we woke up we opened presents with Jakes family and had breakfast!! It was alot of fun to see all the cousins play together and play with all the new toys!! Then after that we headed down to my family's Christmas party and opened presents with all my cousins!! There were so many presents my kids got so spoiled!!
After Christmas day we were there to play and play and play with all our family!! Jake got to do his hunting quite a bit with his new dog!! Then the kids went down grandpa Stephens hill on their sleds. They had a blast!! Good thing Jake is such a good dad and went down the hill with them. At the bottom they made snow angels and played with miley!!
It was alot of fun being in Utah playing with family and friends!! We love going back and wish that we could do it more!!

Jake tumbling down the hill

Kate getting ready to sled

Tagg and dad

Tagg

Kate and Dad

Dad and miley

Snow angels

Kate making snow angels

Christmas "Morning"

2011-02-11T13:22:00.005-07:00

Christmas morning was fun and early for the Stephens household!! We were driving to Utah so we decided to wake the kids up early and do presents!! They had alot of fun!! Kate took a little while to wake up and get into but Tagg was ready to go the min we told him Santa had come.
They are at the perfect age were they were so excited about everything they got and loved everything. It was a great Christmas and everybody got what they wanted!!
I love Christmas time and finally I was at the point in my pregnancy that I was feeling much better and almost completely over the morning sickness so it was a good time.
After everybody opened their presents and we played for a little while and then loaded everybody into the car and headed to Utah!! Jake and I drove all night so that we could surprise our family Christmas morning!!!

Santas presents to Tagg

Santas presents to Kate

Tagg

Kates new dog

Kate opening presents

Santas visit

2011-02-11T13:06:00.003-07:00

Santa came to our house to visit the kids!! They were scared of him at first but warmed up at the end! They were so excited that he came to visit them!! He brought them a little present and they loved it. Kate even got brave enough and drew him a picture to take home to his elves!!

Tagg and Santa

Kate drawing santa a picture

Chase, Tagg, santa, Jake and Kate

Kate not liking santa at first

Kate and chase

Elk hunt

2011-02-11T12:46:00.003-07:00

I went elk hunting for the first time this fall with Jake, Chase Whitlock and Tagg. We went up Carter mountain hiking and looking for elk. We went up there a couple of time but never got anything. We saw lots of tracks and stuff but never saw any of the animals that made them!
It was alot of fun to do something with Jake that he likes. Its not something I want to do all the time but it was fun spending time with him up in the beautiful mountains.
Tagg enjoyed being out there too!! He loves doing stuff with Jake and Chase. Kate was in school so she was not able to come with us this time!

Tagg fell asleep on the hike

Tagg and chase

Tagg

Jake Tagg and Lindsay watching for elk

The baby!!

2010-11-16T16:40:00.003-07:00

This is my new little munchkin!!! About an inch tall already!!! I have been really sick with this one and my mom came out here to Cody to help me with the other two little munchkins!! I am feeling alot better and now that I got a picture of this new little baby it makes me even more excited!! I am due on June 19th!! Just about 2 1/2 weeks after Kates 6th birthday!!
Kate says its a girl, Tagg says its a boy!!! I am just excited either way!! I have one of each so I have stuff for both!!
Tagg keeps asking me to take off my shirt so he can see the baby!! Its funny the way kids think!!!

Jakes Hunt

2010-09-19T08:37:00.006-06:00

Bringing the elk down!!

Jake got to go on an awesome hunt last week!! They went up to the Thorofare on horseback for a week! He loved it!! I think he would live up there if he could! He went with 3 other guys who have never been up there before. It is a really remote place where not alot of people go without guides. But of course for all of those who know Jake......He was born to do this kind of stuff!!

I was home worried sick about him getting ate by a grizzly bear!! The kids missed him alot but were excited to see if dad got his elk!!

The first ride into the wilderness was in snow!! The morning they left it was raining at our house which means up there SNOW!! There are a couple of narrow cliffs next to the trail and those I am sure were fun on the wet slick snow! They made it into camp and for the first couple of days Jake and Chase had pretty cold wet feet!!!

Then their horses ran off twice they saw a black bear the day before the hunt opened, shot an elk, spent two hours trying to hang the elk on a meat pole 30 feet in the air, at some yummy Carmel made by chases wife, hiked to the top of some amazing mountains to look at the view and scan for animals, saw a grizzly bear that came to close for comfort, ate yucky dehydrated mac and cheese pretty much the whole trip, snored, snuggled and just had a whole bunch of fun for the week!!!

Tagg spent the whole week trying to find his dad on the map!!

Starting out heading up the trail

The first day of hunting!!

The grizzly bear they saw!

The elk Jake shot, (that is not Jake it is Joe but this is the best picture of the elk!

Chase enjoying the view

Scouting for potential kills!

Jake and chase ....who knows what they are doing

Jake with his Elk!!!

The trip back home!!

Going out for a drive with the dogs!

2010-09-11T18:08:00.004-06:00

We love going on drives with our family!! The kids just love being outside and hiking around. This Sunday drive took us on a small dirt road on the mountains east of our house!! We took the dogs with us to give them some exercise! It was a little chilly that day but it turned out really fun.
I am not used to telling my 5 year old to make sure she has her shoes on before we get in the truck to go for our drives, but for some reason this time Kate did not put on her shoes! So sadly she had to stay in the truck with me while Tagg and Dad got out to go for a little hike!

Jake and Tagg

Tagg following after Jake

Coming back with the dogs

Ginger doing what she does best

Happy Birthday Jake!!

2010-09-03T23:18:00.003-06:00

Happy b-day babe!!! Jake turns 29 today!!! Jake is such an amazing dad and husband and i just wanted to give him the best birthday! We started off the day by sneaking up on him in bed and yelling happy birthday!! Then after Kate got out of school we went and got Dads favorite treats and took it to him at the dealership! Then when he came home from work we rode the horses and then went in to eat some cake!

Jake is just getting ready for a huge hunt that he will be gone for over a week. They have to take the horses in because that is the only way to get in there!! So I thought what a better way to start off his hunt than a cake with a bunch of dead animals on it!! He loved it and is hoping that is exactly how his hunt is going to turn out!

We love you so much and hope you had a perfect birthday!!

The cake with all the animals on it

a close up of the elk he is hoping to shoot next week

The kids with daddy's birthday balloons

Everybody helping dad blow out all his many many candles!! It looks like a forest fire with all those flames!!

Salsa

2010-09-02T21:06:00.002-06:00

I made my first batch of Salsa!! It turned out so good!!! It took me all day to make it but it was worth it!! My Father in law Flint gave me a whole bunch of tomatoes from his garden and I got my Aunt Lyns recipe and ran with it!!! I split up the batch and made regular salsa, Lime salsa and extra hot salsa!!! I was really proud of the way it turned out!! Thanks everyone for all the recipes and tomatoes and advice!!!

All my cut up veggies that smelled so good
My onions getting ready to be chopped to bits

My Salsa cooking into goodness!!

All the chips Jake got to try the salsa with

The finished product

Kates first day of school!!

2010-08-30T08:35:00.002-06:00

Kate is loving school. She has already had her first week go by so fast!!! She is learning so much and is so excited to tell me about her day! She has Mrs. Wood is her teacher and she is a very fun teacher. I am so happy that Kate is loving this new experience in her life! It makes me so excited as a Mom knowing that she is ready for new things in life. We love her so much and know that she will do very well in school!!

Kate on her first day of school. She was so excited to pick out her new clothes for school.

Kate on her back to school night! She loved getting to see where she was going to sit!

Fishing in the Shoshone River

2010-08-29T17:07:00.003-06:00

We have so much fun as a family when we go outdoors!!! We love all the fun places up here in Cody!! There is just so much to do we never get bored!! While Jake was fishing in the River and the kids were playing with the rocks, sticks and mud I was sitting there taking it all in!! I forgot my book so I was just watching everybody do the things they love!! I got to watch my little ones play and was noticing there bouncing feet along the rocks! I got a little sad when I realized that there feet will never be as little as they are now!! They are just so cute and time is just flying by and my little babies are not so little anymore!!

Kates cute little feet

Taggs cute little feet

Kids playing by the river

Kate posing for the camera

The beautiful island we were on in the river!

Jake carrying us all across the river

Jake helping Kate cross the river

Jake trying to catch a nice fish

Kate playing by the water

Cute Kids

2010-08-09T18:04:00.002-06:00

Tagg relaxing on the porch with his Popsicle on a hot summers day!!!

Kate in the pasture with the tall grass

New Trailer and New Horse

2010-08-09T17:23:00.003-06:00

When I was in Utah we decided to get bo and bring him back up so we could have a horse to ride!! Jake was so excited to have a horse up here!!! Flint and Anette were just so awesome that they drove me back up to Wyoming so I did not have to pull the trailer myself. Flint drove my truck with the trailer on it which was a huge relief to me!!! It was wonderful to have them help me so much on the drive!! Thank you!!
My dad found a horse trailer for us down there and pick it up! Well he thought that it looked a little rough so he fixed it up for us!!! He worked so hard and it looks so awesome!!! Its perfect!! He painted it to match our truck!!! It was awesome and just what we needed! Thank you so much Dad for all your hard work!!! We love it!!!

My hottie riding Bo

The girls on the fence watching Jake ride

The kids Getting ready to brush Bo after we are done riding him.

The new trailer!!! Doesn't it match our truck perfectly?

Jake and Bo in his new home

Bo looking at his new home!! He is a good strong beautiful horse!!

Bo in the trailer after his long 8 hour drive from Utah!!

Our trip to Utah!

2010-08-09T16:51:00.004-06:00

We went to Utah in July for the last time before Kate goes to school in August! Me and the kids were there for 2 weeks while Jake stayed home and worked! We had so much fun visiting family and friends! It just makes me cry to see all the cousins getting so big!! I miss being there to hold all my nieces and nephews all the time! The kids just love playing with all of them and they love playing with aunt Kelsey!!
We did so many things we went to the water park, the zoo, bike riding, watched a house being moved down the street, finished my quilt, played with cousins, took Aunt Kelsey to Volleyball camp, went to papas work, and just had fun outside!!

Laila playing in the water

Tagg trying to decide if he likes the water

Kate posing for her picture

The quilt I finished thanks to the huge help my mom gave me

Grandpa riding the bikes with the grand kids!!

Tagg ridding the scooter

Tagg and Har.vey happy at the zoo as long as they had something to eat!!

Tagg being camera shy (Shocker)

(not so baby anymore) Baby Grey

Kate ridding the train

Kate and her lion on the merry-go-round

The house they were moving down the street! The kids loved seeing it come down Grandmas and Papa Leethams street! It was moved from across the street from Grandma and Grandpa Stephens house!!

4th of July fireworks

2010-08-09T16:32:00.003-06:00

We did fireworks that night and had so much fun!! Wyoming is just a fun place to have fireworks!! We did lots of fun little ones at out house. Jake almost killed us twice but we eventually survived and that night we went over to our neighbors house to light off big fireworks. The kind that you see at the firework shows in Utah!! It was so much fun the kids loved being so close to the fireworks and it was awesome to see the night sky just lit up with fireworks all over the place. You could see them for miles away!!! We loved it!!

Tagg loved the sparklers

Kate

Tagg and Kate both loved getting the GI joe men that we shot up in the sky.

They also loved helping Dad get the fireworks ready!!

4th of July Parade!!

2010-08-09T16:21:00.002-06:00

Jake and Kate

Kate eating her HUGE snow cone!!

Tagg and Kate, Sorry I forgot to turn it!

My kids love going to the Parade! We went Saturday morning! The kids loved it! They had so many horses and alot of old cars!! It was about 21/2 hours long but the kids were so excited about all the horses they say that they didn't even care it was that long! We had fun with dad who told us all about the horses!! Tagg got a snow cone as big as Kates!! I think there eyes were about as big as the snow cones!

It is just so fun seeing my kids learn new things and have new experiences!! I love that they are starting to ask questions and enjoy being anywhere new!!

Yellowstone again!!!

2010-06-27T16:35:00.002-06:00

We went to Yellowstone again! It is so pretty up there and we really want to take advantage with the park being right there! I was hoping to see a bear on this trip but it didn't happen. I have never seen a bear before so i really wanted to!
The kids loved looking at all the animals that we saw. We went to old faithful and the kids just loved it. We went on a hike up the mountain that over looked old faithful!! It was a beautiful sight. We saw just about everything but a bear! The kids loved hiking around with their dad!

I loved watching the pools just boil! They were so blue!

Kate and tagg at the top of the mountain

Kate, Tagg and Dad by the river at old faithful

The kids right next to the buffalo at the park!

Old Faithful

No Training Wheels

2010-06-23T14:19:00.003-06:00

Kate is now riding her bike with no training wheels!! She and her dad worked really hard and practiced alot so that she could do it. Now she can ride her bike while her dad runs! She has fallen a few times but every time she has gotten back up and got on it again, tears and all! She is such a good girl that is growing up way to fast!!

Happy Fathers Day!!

2010-06-21T10:26:00.006-06:00

I just want to tell all the men in my life how much I love and appreciate them!!! They have all given me so much!! They are kind caring and hard workers!!! I just want to tell you a little about why I love each of these men!!

Linds- Jake is such a wonderful husband and the best dad! He works so hard to give me and the kids anything that we need or want. He is so kind and sweet. Jake thinks of everybody but himself and is always willing to do anything for me. I love him so much and still to this day think I am the luckiest women in the world to be married to him!!!
Kate-I love hiking up the mountain with daddy, and with my family too
Tagg-I like to play wrestle with daddy

Linds-My dad is such a wonderful person. He never thinks of himself and is always thinking about who needs what around him. He gets along with just about everyone. I got my good looks from him! He loves to learn new things and is really good at anything he tries! He is so good to the grand kids and they just love him.
Kate-I love going on a walk with papa and think he is a good finder.
Tagg-I like ridding on papa's shoulders

Linds- Flint is so kind and has always accepted me from the day I married jake. He is funny and knows just about everything that you can ask him, including why tire sales are down in Russia!!! (J/K) He is loving to me and my kids. I love that he is willing to teach me about anything I ask him. Jake learned how to work hard from Flint. Jake has already said that when the kids get older there punishments are going to be post holes!!!
Kate-I like eating ice cream with him
Tagg-I like playing with him

Tagg oh boy!!

2010-06-13T20:13:00.003-06:00

Tagg does not pee his pants any more!! To bad he does not pee in the toilet either!! I can't get him to go inside. If he is outside he does it if he is inside he will run outside and do it off the porch!! He is just so cute though!!!

Why we love living here!!!

2010-06-03T18:07:00.002-06:00

We get views like this all the time. The clouds here just hug the mountains all the time!! It makes a beautiful view!! We enjoy all the outdoor things there is to do here!!

Scrapbook pages!!

2010-06-02T22:05:00.002-06:00

My cousin Tiffany has been doing alot of scrapbooking and posting her cute pages on line!! They were way adorable and it inspired me to do some of my own that I am behind on!! I love how they turned out and its fun to get started on scrapbooking again!!! I am way behind but its better late then never!! I sure you will be seeing more of them!! And Jenine and Cally in July when I come lets get together one night and have a late scrapbook night!!!

Happy birthday my beautiful princess!!!

2010-06-01T11:50:00.005-06:00

Kate has such a sweet personality!! She is always thinking of others over herself!! She loves animals and playing outside! Her favorite person in the whole world is her daddy!! She loves playing with him and hunting and fishing. Anything Jake is doing Kate is right there next to him. She is outgoing and spunky!! We love her so much and are so lucky to have her in our lives!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATELYNN!!!!

Kate and dad one day old

Kate one year

Kate two years

Kate three years

Kate and dad four years

Kate FIVE years old

My new swing set!!

2010-05-31T10:27:00.003-06:00

My brother in law built me this awesome swing set!! He is so good! We went to the lumber store and got the boards and hardware and he went to town. He cut and built this in about 6 hours, on his vacation!!!! I really appreciate it though!! My kids love it already!!!

almost done

Tagg sitting up watching Jed build

Putting it together

Kate the Princess

2010-05-30T13:43:00.003-06:00

Kate just had her first dance recital!!! She did so great and was so cute!!! They did two dances the swan lake dance and the teddy bear dance. She loves to dance and learn new things. Kate is such a wonderful little girl and we are so proud of her. She was really excited to be in her sparkling dress and little crown. She absolutely loved it!!

She has 3 other little girls in her class. They all did so well. We are going to put her in dance next year!! We love you Kate. Good job on your recital.

Kate right before his recital

Kate and Lola

Kates pretty dress and crown

Yellowstone Park

2010-05-28T16:56:00.002-06:00

The mountains coming into the park

Buffalo

Way to close

Even closer

A few weeks ago Jake and the kids and me wanted to drive through Yellowstone park!! It wasn't open all the way through quite yet!! It was so beautiful. I haven't been there in a long time. The kids loved all the animals. We saw elk and deer on our way into the park and tons of buffalo while we were in the park. We can't wait to go back there when it is warm and there is not 15 feet of snow on the ground!

Sprinklers!!

2010-05-26T18:32:00.002-06:00

It has been so warm here and the kids have been begging to run in the sprinklers!!! I finally decided it was warm enough for swimsuits and water!! The kids had a blast! Even Tagg, who last year hated when the sprinklers touched him, had a great time playing! They would both fun through with their heads turned and eyes closed and would run into each other!! It is nice to have a nice yard the kids can play in!! I just love it here!!

Kites

2010-05-25T18:34:00.002-06:00

Tagg right after I handed him the string. (This face did not last long)

Kate and her kite

This was Tagg by the end of the kite flying experience

Taggs kite that was tangled up on the trucks

Kate in the field with her kite

The kids got some kites for Easter so we decided to fly them in our new house!! The kids loved it for about two seconds then Tagg did not like it so much. He kept crying because the kite was pulling him around the pasture!! He did not realize that you just need to stand still. Kate liked it until her line got tangled on the fence!! It was a lot of fun while it lasted!!! I think the wind was just a little to strong!!

Kates Party!!

2010-05-21T08:37:00.003-06:00

While we were down in Rawlins for Kates recital we decided to do a quick b-day party for Kate! She was so excited to do a party!! We went to the park and had it at the park. It was so nice and sunny all day a little windy but sunny. Then about 10 min before the party the clouds rolled in and it started to rain. It didn't rain for very long but it was a little chilly. But of course the kids did not even care. They went out and played and they all ended up with wet bums from the rain on the slides. But it was a lot fun to see Kate with some of her friends.

Cody!!!!

2010-05-19T09:37:00.005-06:00

We are moved in and getting settled in Cody!!! I was happy for the crapy weather the first week so i could stay inside and just unpack. I never really feel at home until things are on the walls and boxes are unpacked!! I officially have one box of odds and ends left to unpack!!! Yeah!!

We love this house. It just fits us so well! It was a little over two acres and a great barn for horses. Jake is always playing outside in the yard!! The kids like being out there too!! They are always riding bikes and playing in the dirt!!

Its on a little dirt road about 8 miles outside of town!! Yellow stone is only a 45 min. drive from out house. We are just in love with this little house!! We are going to get horses in the near future and are just so happy!!

We love visitors and our house is always open. So if you want to come to Cody and go to the park and ride horses and just have fun come up and visit us!!!

The kitchen

The dining room (and yes I really hate the carpet)

Our back yard. our property goes to that far fence in the back.

The side parking area and barn

The cute little house!

Entry way

My awesome new table that my parents got us as a house warming gift. Thank you so much mom and dad. I absolutely love it!! It fits us so well.

Playing catch up!!!

2010-04-03T20:12:00.001-06:00

I am playing catch up again so there are a few new posts to look at!!!

Coloring easter eggs

2010-04-03T19:44:00.004-06:00

We usually do Easter eggs coloring at aunt Lauras but we are in Wyoming this year so we missed out!!! But I could not let my kids go without so I boiled some eggs and got the colors out!! The kids had a blast. Even Kelsey got in on the action!! I have to admit that we made some pretty awesome eggs!! Tagg did so much better this year than he did last year!! It was cute watching Kate be so creative and into her work!! We are going to set them out so the Easter bunny can hide them....I just hope he remembers where he hides them so that we don't have a stinky house in a few months!!!!
Its been fun preparing for Easter and doing the fun family traditions with my family here with us!!! Its nice having visitors from Utah stay for more than one night!!! This is there first time doing that so it has been so much fun!!!

Tagg

Kelsey

All of us getting the eggs colored

Me and the kids

The family

Kates special egg

The eggs all finished

Kates teddy bear dance

2010-04-03T19:27:00.004-06:00

Kate had her dance recital the other night!! She did so great!! She got up on that stage and it was awesome!! She loves tap dancing! She was even more excited that dad was there to watch her!! All the girls in her class except one showed up and they all danced so great!! This was Kates first year dancing and she is doing so great, I am so proud of her. I can't go to her dance class anymore though because if I come she just stands there sucking her thumb and doesn't dance. If I don't come all the other moms say she dances great and has no problems!!

She is such a wonderful little princess and we love her!!

Kates class before the recital

Kate and her teddy bear

Tagg making the most of things before Kates recital

Kate first walking out on stage

Starting her dance

Saying her prayers with her teddy bear

Dancing

Ending pose!!!

Utah trip

2010-04-03T19:02:00.002-06:00

We went to Utah to pick up Jake from the airport and just stayed and visited Grandmas and Grandpas and aunts and uncles and cousins!! It was alot of fun!! On sat we horse ridding and Kate is a natural!!! She is so comfortable on horses and just loves to ride them!!! Tagg loves to be on them too. I don't know though if he wants to be on them because he likes them or because everybody else is ridding them and he doesn't want to miss out!
On Sunday we played at grandma leethams house and dad got a new bird that flies and you shoot it out of the sky with a laser gun!!! It is alot of fun and the kids and daddy loved to play it!!
Then we went up and celebrated Uncle Brandon's birthday!!!
We always love going to Utah!
Kate and Tagg

Tagg

Kate

Tagg and Harvey....believe it or not this is a nice hug

Kate and Harvey

Kate playing with the bird dad got

Dad also playing with the bird

Random pics of the kiddos!!!

2010-04-03T18:53:00.003-06:00

These are just random pics of the kids playing and having fun!!!Kate

Tagg

Rusty (my friends baby boy)

St Pattys day!!

2010-03-17T19:09:00.006-06:00

Happy st. Patricks day!!! Today Kate had treats for her class so I made clover sugar cookies with green frosting and sprinkles and then had green milk. The kids thought it was great!!! Kate really loved bringing the green milk to school!! Everyone looked so cute in there green outfits. Kate even let me pull up her hair and put cute green ribbons in it!!

Kitrie, the cute little girl I watch!!

Kate, Tagg and Kitrie

Kate and Kitrie

Jackson Hole!!!

2010-02-25T13:00:00.002-07:00

We went to Jackson Hole on Vacation a few weeks back!!! We had so much fun!!! Shane and Tonya and their girls went with us and it was a blast!!! We went shopping, Swimming and out to the elk refuge!!! The kids loved the elk refuge!!! There were so many elk out there to look at. They said that there was only 25% of the elk that are usually on the refuge!!! It was beautiful out there!!!! I love spending the weekend out with my wonderful family!! That is one place that I know we will go back to often!!!

It was freezing on the sled!!!! Jake, Kate and Tagg trying to keep warm.

Jake and Tagg

Big horn sheep right on the side of the road!!

Tagg is potty trained!!

2010-02-13T08:20:00.003-07:00

We are so excited that Tagg is Potty Trained!!! Last weekend Jake went to Arizona and Kate went to Utah to stay with Grandmas and Grandpas and me and Tagg stayed home. I decided to try to potty train him. He was not going in his diaper anymore but unfortunately he was not going in the toilet either! I have had him pee on my couch 3 times turn his stool over and pee in it on my bed on his bed on the front room floor, kitchen floor and on the bathroom floor. I figured it was time to get him to go in the potty!!
He did so good. He loved getting the treats that I had in a big container that he could pick out himself!! He a a few accidents the first few days and I was about to throw in the towel. I decided to keep at it because I really was tired of buying diapers! Well he finally got it!! Dad got him a truck for going so good!!
When we drove to Utah last night he was dry the whole ride and we only stoped once to let him go. Kate is so good to him and encourages him to go. She is such a good big sister!!! Last night he went the whole night without wetting his diaper!!! I few more of the those nights and we may be able to say goodbye to diapers for good!!

Christmas!!

2009-12-30T16:47:00.003-07:00

Santa came to grandmas house to see how the kids were doing. Tagg jumped right on and every time Santa would ask what he wants all he would say is presents!! He didn't care what he got as long as they were presents. Kate did not enjoy Santa as much, but when he was gone she could not stop talking about it!!!!
On Christmas morning the kids came up and they were sure spoiled!!! Not only by Santa but mom and dad spoiled them as well. One of Kates favorite presents was the gun she got!! Tagg just loved all of them including everybody elses toys as well!! We had a great Christmas and a good visit with family!

Kate on Santa's lap. She had her hands covering her face the whole time.
Tagg and Santa

Dad being silly with Kates new coat

The kids opening the family Christmas present!!

Horse ridding and Sledding

2009-12-23T18:25:00.005-07:00

We have had a fun time with the horses the last couple of days!! The kids just love riding them and playing with dad. We decided Tuesday morning that we would ride horses, but by the time we got out there it was snowing pretty hard! The kids still had a blast. Then today we went sledding. Kate and Tagg thought it was pretty awesome to get pulled in the sleigh by the horse!! We did that in the pasture for awhile. Then mom and dad got cold and we made the kids come in (mean mom and dad)!!! Its always nice to come here and let the kids ride the horses, they love it and I love watching them.

Dad and Kate

Tagg

Kate ridding the horse all by herself

Who doesn't like a good snowball fight?!?!

Tagg loved the sled

Kate finally got on it herself

Tagg and Kate

Hiking

2009-12-21T18:52:00.003-07:00

Jake , Flint and Tagg went chuckar hunting and Tagg loved it. He was so good hiking around and being cold in the snow!! It was beautiful up in the mountains. They were up above the fog and looking down into the valley was awesome. They ended up not getting any birds but still had alot of fun.

Tagg

Dad and Tag Trying to find Chuckars

Grandpa and Tagg

Snow!!!

2009-12-07T14:35:00.002-07:00

We have had some snow the last couple of days and it has been cold!!!! Finally the wind was not so bad so we just went out to play for a bit. It was still so cold that we only stayed out for a few min. but the kids had fun. This is the first year Tagg has actually liked going out in the snow. Kate has always enjoyed being outside in any weather!!
The kids getting ready to go outside

Tagg finally liking the snow

Kake showing me her gloves

Taggs 2nd Birthday

2009-12-07T14:25:00.003-07:00

I decided to do a race track cake for tagg. He just loves cars. He kept getting up on the chair to see his cake. I thought it turned out cute!!! We just had a few people over for cake and ice cream. He was so cute opening his presents. He would open one and then just want to play with that one did not care about the rest. Then I would get him to open another one and he would just want to play with that one. I think he had a good birthday. He got alot of fun presents. We will have a family one when we go up to Utah!!
Taggs Cake

Trying to blow out the candles

Opening presents. Kate helped with most of them.

Kate dad and Tagg after the party was over!!!

Turkey Hunting

2009-12-07T14:10:00.001-07:00

While we were in Nebraska Jake got to go Turkey hunting. He got one and when we got back we cooked it up. He did a really nice job cooking the bird. Wild turkey is actually really good!!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-07T13:44:00.003-07:00

We went to Nebraska to see our friends for thanksgiving! It was alot of fun. The kids did ok in the car ride there and GREAT in the car ride home!! We got there late Wednesday night. Brindee was so organized for thanksgiving I could not believe it. She had everything made the night before. All we had to do was stick it in the oven the next day!!! Everything tasted delicious!! The boys went and played football in the morning while we got things ready. The kids got to make these cute turkeys out of Carmel popcorn. They loved doing that. All 5 of the kids did a great job making there turkey.
Taggs turkey!!
Kate and the boys making there turkeys

Porters turkey!!
That night at midnight we went to Toys R US for the after thanksgivng sale. I got alot of cute things for the kids christmas. Then by the time we were done it was 2:30 and we knew if we went home to bed we would never wake up. So we just went to old navy at 3 then Target at 5 and then walmart after that. When we got home the boys wanted to go to Bass pro shop so we went there. Santa was there and the kids got there picture with them. It was alot of fun!!

On Saturday we got to go to the zoo. They have an amazing zoo there. All the animals are inside and the buildings are huge and are really neat. They kids loved seeing all the animals. We did not even make it to all the animals and we were there all day!!
Tagg at the peting zoo
All the kids in the dessert dome

Kate and Landon They are just so cute together.
Hattie not wanting to miss any of the action.

We had so much fun there. Thanks Ty and Brindee for letting us come stay!!!

Horses

2009-12-07T13:26:00.006-07:00

Kate and Tagg love being on horses. Right before Thanksgiving we went to Utah and the kids were able to get on the horses for a few min. They loved it. Jake does a good job with the horses and kids. He always is willing to go down there and get the horses ready for them to ride. They love every min that they are out there. We will have horses out here one day and I know the kids will learn to work hard and take care of them.

Kate and Tagg
Kates Rodeo queen wave.

Tagg, Kate and Har.vey

Har.vey

Tagg always has big smiles.

Kates new Cat

2009-12-07T13:23:00.002-07:00

This is Kates new cat Cougar. She loves him. She gets so sad when she wakes up in the morning and Cougar is not there!!!

Halloween

2009-12-07T13:11:00.004-07:00

Kate and Tagg getting ready

Kate not letting her dress hit the ground.

Dad and Tagg crossing the street

Taggs cute costume

We had a good Halloween this year. Kate wanted to be a Cinderella princesses and Tagg was Frankenstein. We went to the business down town for some trick or treating and we got so many comments on Taggs costume. He was very handsome. Kate was very cute as well. We got so much candy that we decided not to go around the neighborhood trick or treating. Kate loved handing out the candy to all the kids. The kids missed going to all the grandmas and grandpas houses but they still had fun.

Missons, Party and Crafts

2009-10-29T18:28:00.005-06:00

Well Jakes little brother will be leaving for his mission at the first of November. So we went to his farewell this past weekend. I don't think my kids quite understand what Uncle Creed is doing. It was so awesome to see them get to play with him before he left. He is such a wonderful person and I know that he will serve the Lord with all his heart. I know that he will touch and change the lives of the Dominican Republic people. He will make many friends there and will love serving there. I am sure just like his brother he will not want to stop teaching the people there. We love you Creed!

Creed and Jake

Tagg, Creed, Kate saying goodbye before he leaves.
Kate, Grandma and Laila

Tagg, Kate and Laila

Kate had a school Halloween party this week. She wanted to be Cinderella. She was so cute and very excited to wear her dress. She thought it looked so pretty!! Tagg was Frankenstein but he does not like costumes. He would not put on any of the that I had for him. I don't think it helped that dad was wearing his Frankenstein mask growling at him.

The Creepy cup cakes I made for Kate Halloween party and School.
Kate and Jess eating all the yummy treats after playing games.
Tagg loved helping me with the pumpkin station

This is the cute craft I made. My mom got me all the stuff and wee were doing to make it together but the weekend got to frantic and busy. But I really think it turned out so cute!!!

Homecoming day parade!!

2009-10-16T17:54:00.004-06:00

Kate waving her pom poms on the float.

Today Kates dance class got to ride on a float in the homecoming day parade. Everyone wore red and white (I know bad colors, HAHA), for the Rawlins outlaws!! It was alot of fun. Tagg and I even got to ride on the float. It was alot of fun. Tagg had fun right away but it took Kate a little more time to decide that it indeed was fun. She did not like it at all at first but then by the end she was waving her little pom poms and having fun. She even got to see her teacher from school watching the parade.

Kate, Tonya and Timbree

Me and Tagg

Tagg having fun with the foam finger

Timbree kates friend

Kates first day of Preschool

2009-09-23T16:14:00.005-06:00

We finally found a preschool. We had to get on the waiting list but with alot of prayers and phone calls she got in. It was very difficult for me to think that there is only one or two preschools here in Rawlins. In Utah they are on every corner you would have no problem finding one. She loves it though and does so good. She asks every day if she is going to school. I am glad that she like it and hope that she continues to like it.
Kate going to school

Tagg Has to do everything Kate does!!!

SNOW~!!!

2009-09-23T16:12:00.001-06:00

Monday I woke up to snow on my turck!!! I could not believe that there was snow. Of course the snow did not last long but it was still there. What did I get myself into?!?!?!

Jakes B-day

2009-09-23T16:02:00.002-06:00

We also celebrated Jakes b-day. He turned the the big 28!!!!! Happy b-day babe even though it is a little late getting it on the blog. I love you!!!

Camping

2009-09-23T15:44:00.005-06:00

We love to go camping. We were able to go with some friends a couple of weeks ago. The kids had a blast. Jake had a Deer tag so we decided to go along and have some fun. We stayed in Shane's huge Camper and pretty much had it to ourselves during the day when the boys were out hunting. The kids loved being out side all day long. Tag did get stung by a bee but other than that there were no major injuries. It was so beautiful up there, perfect temperature. We even got to here the coyotes one night howling at each other. Jake got to chase a bear and see lots of huge bucks.

Kate and Tagg by the lake

Kate and Tagg showing off there rocks they found

Dad taught Kate how to shoot a sling shot. She got pretty good by the time we left.

Kate learned how to drive a 4wheeler by herself. She loved it.
Tagg liked to ride it with Dad

This is Taggs face every time he had to get off it.

Dancing!!

2009-09-23T15:39:00.002-06:00

We put Kate into a Tap and Ballet class here in Rawlins. She loves it!!! They are learning a new teddy bear dance and she does so good. I can't stay and watch her though very often because of Tagg. He screams when I won't let him go out there and dance with Kate.

Update finally!!

2009-08-12T17:33:00.009-06:00

Here is the cute little house we are renting!! It is all hard wood floors and I have to say that cleaning up messes is great on hard wood! We are 90% done with the unpacking. I just have a few things left. They are putting in a whole new bathroom upstairs for us. It has been quite the process but I can see progress now. It should be done this week.

We see deer in our yard about every other day. The kids love it. This buck and a doe have been hanging around our neighborhood. The kids really love all the wildlife they see in town.
This is Teton Reservoir by our house. It is a nice little lake that we will be visiting often!!

We took a short trip to Utah this past week for Jakes race. He is so amazing I don't know how he does what he does.

Me and the kids stayed a few extra days for my dads big 50th birthday, which turned out really great mom, and My sister in laws baby shower!! We had a lot of fun back down in Utah. It was a really busy weekend but it turned out fun.

We went to the new Highland Library water fountains to play. We went once with H.arvey and Grey and once with Kellen and KaraLynn. The kids loved it. Tagg did not like it at first but then he started warming up to it. I think this will be a big hit every Utah trip.
H.arvey and kate

Tagg Finally playing in the water.

Now that we are mostly unpacked we can enjoy a little time outside. My poor kids have been couped up while I tried to get my house in order. The past few days have been really warm so we have spent them outside playing in the sprinkler and on the spinning teeter totter Uncle Brandon and Aunt Jenine gave tagg for Christmas. They love it.

They play on this all the time they love it. It goes up and down and can spin at the same time.

We are finally settled

2009-07-25T16:37:00.003-06:00

We are finally in our house here in Rawlins Wyoming. My sister came down last week and helped me get the kitchen, family room and the bedrooms all unpacked and decorated!! The downstairs were the toys and craft room are is still a mess, but that will come. It is a cute old house. It fits our needs!! We have like living here.

We saw a buck and a doe in our back yard eating the trees. There are tons of little bunnies everywhere that the kids like to chase. Kate made a little friend named Timbree that she loves playing with. It is nice to be together again. Now all I need to do is find the cord to my camera and I can post some pictures!!

Also on a side note...only in Wyoming can you drive down the road and get a flat tire by running over a 22 bullet. Yes that happened to me last Thursday. I never saw it coming.

Changes!!

2009-07-08T22:57:00.005-06:00

There are alot of changes going on in my life right now. I am just about going crazy because I feel like I can't control anything in my life right now. I feel like I am on for the ride and everybody else has say in where my life will go and when I get to go there but me. As most of you know Jake has been working in Wyoming for about 6 months now. We have not lived together for SIX MONTHS. It has really been stressful. Our house had many offers on it but only a few that were even worth looking at. Then we accepted one and had to wait two months only for them to get denied. We started over. Lucky for us three days after being on the market we got another offer that we accepted and a month later we FINALLY closed!!!
Then we found a awesome house in Lander that we loved. After two months dealing with that we got denied the loan because the house had a Cistern instead of a well. (a cistern is a huge tank that holds water for your household use). That has been really frustrating. So now we were back to square one.
Jake and I did alot of calling and looked at a few places that just did not feel right. Then yesterday we found a house in Rawlins that we are really excited about. We get to move this weekend and after living out of a suitcase for a little over a month we get to live together again!! Thanks to my in-laws that let my family invaded their home for the last month.

So after all that has happened I needed to change something in my life, something that I could control that min. Something that nobody else had a say on when I needed to do it or what I could do. So I decided to change my hair. I have NEVER been a brunette before. I was a toe head when I was little and dyed it when it started to change to a dirty yellow. I love it though. Jake has not seen it yet so we will see what he thinks but I love it and mostly because nobody else could be in charge of my hair only me. So for this brief moment I had control!!!

On a side note Jake's awesome brother Creed got his mission call to the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission. He leaves November 4. We are so excited for him and know that he will do well there and will love it. We love you Creed!

Babies

2009-07-06T15:13:00.003-06:00

So today Kate came into the bathroom while I was getting ready...she looked at me and said

Kate: are you and daddy going to have another baby?
Me: No not right now....Why?
Kate: Because it looks like you are

I think it is time to start on that diet thing again......hummm

Raging Waters and fireworks

2009-07-04T11:11:00.007-06:00

Yesterday we went to raging waters with Jake family. It was so much fun and it was perfect weather. We played all day in the water going down slides and splashing in the wave pool. Tagg, Kate and Harvey would not get out of the water. They are little fish. It was so fun to be able to spend an extra day with daddy.
After the water we came home and took some much needed naps. Then called Mama and Papa Leetham to come up for dinner and fireworks. The fireworks were awesome!! Though none of the children but Grey would even watch them. Kate and Tagg hid under blankets, Harvey went in the house and Grey just sat there and watched. He loved it!!
Kate being brave and going down the slide
Making a big splash

Tagg loved watching Kate go down the slide from this dinosaur
Harvey loving the water with his dad

Tagg Playing with the tube
Tagg and Jake.
Kate strutting her stuff
Yeah fireworks!!!

Poison Ivy

2009-06-29T15:59:00.002-06:00

Jake got poison ivy on his race!!! The poor guy has it all over!! Remember that last post with the picture that I thought maybe I should take up running.....this brings me back to reality....I don't want to get that so I will continue my quest to get thin another way!!

Big Horn Mountain race

2009-06-23T11:31:00.006-06:00

The awesome Runner

Jake ran his 31 mile race on Saturday. He did so good!! He ran it in 8 Hours 40 min. It was a beautiful day in Sheridan. It got up to 85, it was so nice to finally have hot weather. Jake got up at 4:3o to get ready and head out so he could catch the bus at 6:00 am. (We were sleeping). Then at 8:00 the race started, (We were still sleeping). He ran and ran and ran. While he was running we were trying to kill the time and we found out that there was a kids carnival at the park in town. They had a cake walk a huge bouncy house, water volleyball, shaved ice, face painting, hat making, tile painting and lots of other stuff. the best part was that is was free!!! Then we got some lunch and headed to the finish line to wait for Jake.

There was a 100 mile, 50 mile, 50K and a 30K race going on all at the same time. Jake was the 50K his numbers were in blue. I kept seeing the 30k numbers come by then a few 100 and 50 mile and then I started to see more and more blue. He came around the corner and he looked so good. He looked like he had just started running. He was about 1/4 mile away from the finish line. I got to run the last little mile with him and it was so awesome. He just did so good and I am so proud of him!!! When he was done we took off his shoes and he had huge blisters and purple toes nails. He said the only thing that hurt was his feet. It was a mostly down hill mountain run with a few up hill spots. He saw two bears and a moose. He is ready for his 65 mile race in Aug. Good job babe love you.

Tagg getting his face painted.

Kate Painting her tile.

Jake on his run with his awesome blue sweat band. (doesn't he make it look so good)

This is the trail he was running on. It almost makes me want to take up the ultra marathons just to see this..........almost.
Toward the end of the race.

Crossing the finish line!! Yeah!!!!

Taking with the people at the end of the race.....again the Sweet sweat band.

This is only part of his leg. He was really muddy when he finished.

His purple toe nails, and if you look really lose you can see his no toe foot.

Cowgirl Kate!!

2009-06-15T11:19:00.005-06:00

Kate just loves horses. We got her some cowboy boots for her birthday and she loves them. Every weekend her daddy is home she wants him to take her to ride the horses. She leads them all by herself she rides them all by herself, she does a good job. When we get to Wyoming we are going to get her riding lessons. The kids just love when Daddy comes home on the weekends. Just another week or so and we should be closing on the house out there and we will finally be living in Wyoming.

Kate and Tagg waiting for Daddy to saddle the horses

Teaching Kate that you have to brush the horse out before and after you ride them.

Daddy and Kate ridding together.

Kate doing it by herself. Not happy at first but now we can't get her off.

Little angels!!!!

2009-06-09T09:32:00.005-06:00

While I was moving and packing and trying to clean the house Kate and Tagg would usually go up in my bedroom and watch a movie or something. The last day before the movers came to load everything I was trying to clean up and get last minute things put together. I was cleaning downstairs and then went over to talk to Cami when I came back I found my kids asleep on each other. It was so cute!!! I don't think I have even ever seen them snuggle with each other until now.
Kate and Tagg asleep

Kate, (we are still trying to work on the thumb sucking thing. She sucks it when she sleeps now which is a huge improvement.)

Tagg. Look how dirty his face is....poor kid probably never saw a wash cloth all day!!!

This was our family room before the movers came!

Party Harty!!

2009-06-07T11:48:00.006-06:00

Kate had her b-day party on Saturday!! It was alot of fun. It was a little cloudy and cold for the water but the kids had fun anyway! We had a huge blow up water slide that was really fun. It took the kids a min. to get used to the water temp but after they did everybody had fun. We ate lots of good food, (thank you everybody who brought something). Then Kate got to open presents. She got everything from makeup and dress up clothes to cowboy boots and everything in between. She had a lot of fun. She even got a huge batman doll!!! She did not know what to think at first when she opened it. It was great. We had a lot of fun. Thanks everybody to came and made Kates day special.

Kates barbie cake. She wanted a princess cake.

Huge water slide.

Kellen playing with the squirt gun.

Katelynn opeing her presants.

Tagg and Kates batman doll.

This is what happens after a long day and a huge party with lots of family and friends.

Kate is 4!!!!

2009-06-02T08:00:00.003-06:00

Kate June 1, 2005

My Sweet Kate turned four. I can not believe that my baby is that old. She is such a sweet, smart and fun little girl. She LOVES her brother and daddy so much. She is always playing with her animals. She is in love with batman and wants to marry him in the temple when she is older. She loves pretending to do homework (I hope that one will stick around for school). She helps me out around the house and is very good at putting her clothes away after I fold them. She loves spending time with both grandparents, who spoil her rotten!!! Jake and I are so blessed to have the chance to raise such a bright headstrong little girl who will turn out to be a great woman. We love you so much Kate!!!

Its done!!!!

2009-05-29T13:16:00.007-06:00

We have officially moved!!! We signed the papers yesterday. It is such a big relief to not have that burden anymore. I am so excited to be able to live with Jake again. I do have alot of mixed feelings about moving. One am real excited about the new adventure me and my family will be taking in Wyoming, but on the other had we have many great wonderful family and friends here in Utah. I will really miss living in Lehi. I have made some great friends. But this will give my family an opportunity to grow closer and rely on each other.

We had a moving company come and move us which was a HUGE strain off my shoulders. Then on the day that I was cleaning some wonderful ladies from the ward and my mom came over to help me clean, and Cami took all the kids while we cleaned. Thank you so much for helping me get that done so fast. Cami has also been a huge life savor in this whole moving experience. She has taken my kids so much and has just made sure that I have had everything that I need. Aaron came over to fix a couple of things at the house also. Thanks guys. My mom has also helped with my kids so much this last week, and my dad was nice enough to take a load to the dump and helped me get the roof fixed. Also my in-laws were nice enough to let me and my family come invade their house for a few weeks until out house in Wyoming is ready. They have cooked us dinner and helped me with the dogs. thank you to everybody who has helped me.

5 Years .....already!!

2009-05-08T14:09:00.005-06:00

I love you so much hunny......thank you for giving me everything I have ever wanted. You are smart, sweet and sexy. LOVE YOU!!

I did not have a picture of me and Jake on our wedding day so you just get me!!!

It has been 5 wonderful years being married to Jake. He has just been the best, best friend I have ever had. Here is what has happened in the last 5 years....

May 2004....Married in the Salt Lake Temple
June 2005....Kate was born and we moved into our new house.
2006...Jake worked his way up in the car business and I worked at the prison and Kate got to spend her time with Grandma
March 2007...I got to quit my job and we found out we were expecting baby #2 Tagg was born in December.
2008....I was still an at home mommy and Jake worked really hard to keep it that way.
2009....We are moving to Wyoming for Jakes new job

5 Things I love most about my hubby:

1: He works so hard to keep me at home!!!
2: He never leaves the house or gets off the phone without telling me he loves me.
3: He is really really HOT!
4: He is always on the go...never a dull moment with him.
5: I love that he was nice enough to grow only 1/2 of his foot because he knew he would marry someone that would hate feet!!!

Logandale NV

2009-05-01T12:53:00.003-06:00

Right after Easter we went to Logandale to visit Jakes Grandparents. The kids had a good time. They have always loved going to their great Grandparents house. The weather was really chilly the first day and the wind was really strong, But the kate had fun showing grandma and grandpa how well she can ride her bike. Tagg just had fun being outside playing in the dirt. Then grandma had a doctors appointment in St. George so me and the kids went to the temple while she was at her appointment. Kate loved being that close to the temple....she repeatedly told me that she and batman will get married there someday. (At least she knows where to get married right?) Then me and grandma make a couple of quilts and while we made them grandpa read to Kate!! She loves it when people read to her. Tagg just got to play with the toys. We had such a fun time. Thanks for having us.

This is Tagg the entire time we were at the temple. He was sure tired.

Easter Sunday

2009-04-21T11:49:00.003-06:00

The kids had a good Easter. Kate loved it and Tagg got the hang of things by the end of the day. We started off with a Easter egg hunt with out play group. The kids loved it!! There were so many kids at the egg hunt it was fun to see them all get so excited. Then on the following Saturday my family had a party. We went over to my cousins house to enjoy yummy food with alot of people we love.
After dinner all the kids got to color eggs. They loved that part. kate was very particular about what color what egg was. She put stickers all over her eggs and then wrote on them for everybody. Tagg was only interested in throwing them!! He had fun but after about three broken eggs all over Tagg got to enjoy the rest of the egg coloring with daddy in the house playing ball. He loved that tough.!!! Then after egg coloring and food the kids had a massive egg hunt upstairs. My dad filled about 200 eggs (there may have been more) and my cousins brought some other eggs and fun things and we hid them. There were only about 8 kids finding all those eggs. Kate and Tagg got so many eggs that the Easter bunny did not have to bring more he just hid the ones they already had!! It was a lot of fun spending the day with family.

On Easter Sunday the kids woke up to fun surprises. They both got some underwear and socks and one toy. Kate got a new Easter dress to wear to church. We sat down and told them the meaning of Easter and what it represents. Kate got little tidbits here and there but Tagg was to distracted from the candy he knew was on top of the fridge. It is such a big responsibility we have of teaching our children about the church. The example we have to set for them just blows my mind. Heavenly Father must have complete trust in us that we will teach his children to come home to him!!! I just feel blessed that he has entrusted me and Jake with the two wonderful children that we have.

Kate and Tagg in their cute church clothes.

Tagg finding eggs at home

Kate coloring her eggs

Kate and Tagg at playgroup finding eggs

BBQ with the Cotters

2009-04-21T11:37:00.003-06:00

A few days ago we were ready to have a BBQ. It was still a little cold but we had alot of fun!!! The Cotters came over to enjoy the hot dogs and Marshmallows with us. They have been such good friends to us. We are really going to miss them. Kate and Kellen have become quite the little pair! By the end of the night pretty much everything was covered in marshmallow and everybody was tired. Thanks Cotters for coming over to enjoy the night with us.

Jake, Tagg, Kellen, and Kate

Kellen and Tagg

Aaron cami and Kellen