Welcome to Hicktown!

2011-2012 School Year

2011-10-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

The school year in Manila started August 24, 2011. Can't believe it, but Ashton is a 1st grader! It was a pretty big adjustment for us this year. In our school district, kindergarten is only a half day so this was the first year that Ashton would have to go to school all day. He was pretty tired when he got home the first few weeks, but it's been much easier since then. It was also a big adjustment for the other kids. Ashton is gone from about 7:40 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. so that's a long time without their big brother. So far, Ashton has done great in school! His class was pretty far behind in reading coming into 1st grade, so I was a bit worried. But he has been doing great on his reading and is even reading more words per minute than a 1st grade level. He is also getting ready to make the move into 2nd grade math. And not to mention that he's just an awesome student (even though his teacher, Kale's mom, is a bit biased I know this is the complete truth). Ashton has really been enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the bus home everyday after school, and he loves getting the eat school lunch everyday.

This school year also meant that Kamryn would be starting pre-kindergarten! Pre-K started the day after Labor Day. There are 17 kids in Kamryn's class (which is a lot for a class in Manila!), so they each go 2 days a week from 8:15 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. I was so, so worried about her starting Pre-K! She's only 4, but she's got quite the little attitude. I didn't really know if she would behave herself at school. Kale & I have been lucky so far, no tears were shed from either of our big kids on their first day of Pre-K. She went right in and was totally okay with me leaving her there. And she actually behaves herself when she's at school much to my relief! Lol!

Kalen and I are a bit lost on mornings when Ashton and Kamryn are both gone. They are the ones that keep Kalen entertained, so when they are gone it's all up to me.

CCJR Finals

2011-10-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

Monday, September 5, 2011, was the Cow Country Junior Rodeo (CCJR) Series finals. Ashton had been leading the pee-wee mutton bustin' for the majority of the summer. He had a really good shot at taking 1st place and winning his very first rodeo buckle. He knew that if he made his 6 second ride that he would win the buckle. He got on his sheep for the ride, but unfortunately he only lasted about 3 seconds. He was devastated! He thought that he hadn't won the buckle. But I hurried and ran the numbers, and I figured that there was no way anyone could beat him. We had to wait until the end of the rodeo to find out the final results. When they announced his name, he was the happiest I've ever seen him! Kale and I were very pround parents. He won his buckle, and he's the official 2011 CCJR Champion Mutton Buster:)

Five Little Surprises...

2011-10-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

On the afternoon of September 4, our family got 5 little black and white surprises: puppies!!! Our blue heeler Jenna had 1 girl and 4 boys. They are so, so cute! We let the kids help pick out names for them: the boys are: Duckling, Spot, Shorty, and Bull Rider; and the girl is Maleeya. Don't ask me where some of those names came from! Lol! They are about 5 weeks old right now and are really starting to enter the "puppy" stage. They are starting to chew and play with everything! They will follow you all around and attack your pants and shoes:) In another week, they will be ready to leave Jenna. If anyone is interested in one of the boy puppies, let me know. We are giving them away for free.

Slaugh Wedding

2011-10-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

Kale's brother, Clint, also got married in July to Whitney Norton. They were married in Vernal, Utah, on July 30, 2011. The wedding took place at the Meier Residence. It was one of the most beautiful houses that I've ever seen! And the backyard was even better! It was completely landscaped with beautiful flowers and waterfalls everywhere. They had playground equipment, and they even had a huge pirate ship playhouse! It was amazing! And it sure did keep the kids entertained. It was a lovely wedding.

Unfortunately, Kale was not able to come to Vernal with us for the wedding. He couldn't get the night off from work. We were all really bummed! So the kids and I headed by ourselves. I took the kids to the dinosaur museum before the wedding. They love going there! We had Little Ceasar's pizza for dinner (love it), and I got the stay the night with the kids in a hotel. The next morning we got up and headed home. It was a fun little trip.

Mom's Visit/Sister's Wedding

2011-10-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

My mom, who lives in Phoenix, got to come down for 6 days this summer to attend my sister's wedding! She was able to come stay with my family for a few nights, then headed into town to stay at the Hampton Inn where my sister's wedding reception was held. Her visit was great timing; she got to come watch Ashton ride in one of the junior rodeos held out here in Manila. It was the first time she's gotten to come!

My sister was married on July 16, 2011, to Adam Akers. The wedding ceremony was held at Centennial Park in Green River, and the reception was held at the Hampton Inn also in Green River. It was a great day! My sister looked beautiful and I'm so glad that she's so happy! The kids and I were all in the wedding. I was the maid of honor; Ashton & Kalen were the ring bearers; and Kamryn was one of the flower girls. My kids looked absolutely adorable!

Happy Anniversary!

2011-10-08T08:07:00.000-07:00

Kale and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on July 11, 2011! Can't believe we've already been married 8 years and have the three most beautiful kids in the world:) We dropped the kids off at my dad's house and went and had dinner at Applebees in Rock Springs. It was great to be able to spend some alone time together, even though it was only a few hours. Love you honey!

Trips to Salt Lake City

2011-07-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

Kale and I have made 3 trips down to Salt Lake so far this year...and we've ended up buying something new every time we've gone down! Our first trip down was in March to go to the Sportsman's Expo. I had been looking at cars for almost a month before this trip. I wanted something that could fit more than 5 people in it. When my mom visited this last Christmas, it was hard because we had to take 2 vehicles everywhere we went since both of ours only sat 5 people. I had finally decided on a Mazda CX-9. There were a few available at different dealerships, but I decided to try Henry Day Ford first. It turned out to be a great deal so we bought it! I love having so much extra room! And now we are able to haul 7 people in my car. Ironically, our salesman at Henry Day Ford had previously been a social worker in Vernal so he knew all about this area.

Our next trip down was the beginning of June. We decided to take a day and take the kids to the zoo and aquarium. They had a blast! We were also considering trading in our camper for a toy hauler so we could haul all our camping stuff in one trip instead of two, and so I didn't have to pull anything. We decided to stop by Motor Sportsland just to check out what the toy haulers actually looked like inside. They happened to have a used one they had just gotten in. It was exactly what we were looking for so we bought that too! A few days later, we met them just outside of Fort Bridger with our new toy hauler. We love it so, so much! It's awesome to be able to just drive our Ranger inside and get everything to the camp in one trip. Plus we no longer have to carry a generator and gas cans with us; it's all built in to the toy hauler:)

Our third trip down to SLC was just this last week. Kale and I went this time without the kids. The purpose of this trip was to get a new truck. Ever since we've been married, we've always had a Dodge. Well last year, Kale decided he wanted a Toyota Tacoma. So we bought one. Since it wasn't big enough to pull our camper, we also had to buy another full-size truck. We ended up with my brother-in-law's 1997 Ford. Since we bought the new toy hauler, we didn't really have a need to have 2 trucks anymore. And Kale was really missing his Dodge, especially when he was pulling the camper. So I searched online for about a week and found some awesome trucks at a place in American Fork called Watts Automotive. We found a truck we liked and headed down at 6 a.m. As soon as we got there, the salesman pulled the truck we liked out of the garage and we instantly fell in love with it! I was sold before we even drove it! Lol! I definitely recommend Watts if you're looking for any kind of truck, especially if you like trucks with lifts and tires/wheels. From the time we arrived at the dealership to the time we drove off in our new truck was an hour and a half! By far the fastest vehicle buying experience we've ever had! When we got home, we took the kids for a ride up to our friends's house. Kale got a text from his friend Bubba who grew up in Manila and now lives in Green River asking where we got the truck. We were laughing earlier in the day about how we always end up with the exact same truck as Bubba, who also has a white Dodge. Well Kale called him and jokingly apologized for copying his truck again. Bubbe replied with, "You didn't copy my truck; that IS my truck!" Turns out, Bubba and his wife had traded in their white Dodge the week before at Watts and we ended up buying it without even knowing it!

Kindergarten Graduation

2011-07-10T07:32:00.001-07:00

Ashton graduated from kindergarten on May 28, 2011. His teacher, Mrs. Tinker, gave out individual awards to every kid in the class. Ashton got the "Mr. Agreeable" award because he always follows directions and does what he's told, and also because he is friends with everyone and tries his hardest to get along and be nice to all the other kids. I could've guessed he would've gotten an award like that. He also got an award for perfect attendance in April/May and the "Kindergarten Exceptional Library Student" award from the librarian.

First Archery Shoot!

2011-07-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

Kale took Ashton to his first archery shoot in May. Ashton was thrilled to go shoot his bow with his dad:)

Birthdays...

2011-07-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

Apparently it has been FOREVER since I've posted anything on here...whoops! I know I'm leaving a lot out since my last post, but I'm going to starts my updates with some birthdays. My beautiful little girl turned 4 on April 15th. Hard to believe she will be starting preschool this fall! We had a Tangled party for her, attended by many family and friends. She had tons of fun and of course got a lot of really cute toys and clothes.

On May 19th, my baby Kalen turned 1 year old! This first year has gone by so fast! We had a monkey party for Kalen; he does, after all, remind me of a little monkey. He finally started crawling only a month before his birthday. Of course, he doesn't crawl normal! He crawls like a little crab! The funny part about all of it is Ashton crawled the exact same way. Funny boys! After the crab crawl, Kalen started the bear crawl. He looks just like Mowgli from The Jungle Book. And he crawls so fast, it looks like he's running on all fours. Finally at 13 months, Kalen decided he would get up and walk. I love when they first start walking; they are so darn cute! I'm glad he decided to break out his walking skills because my sister is getting married in 2 weeks, and I would really like him to walk down the aisle.

Ashton's 6th Birthday and Halloween

2010-11-09T05:38:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Ashton's 6th birthday on October 28, 2010! I CANNOT believe my first-born can possibly be that old! Even though I hate that he is growing up, I'm very fascinated by the little boy he has become:) I am one very proud mama:)

This year, Ashton wanted to have a Batman birthday party. We got him a big 'ole Batman cake that he LOVED! We decided to make his party a costume party since it's only 3 days before Halloween. Ashton, of course, was dressed as Batman. Kamryn decided she wanted to be Princess Jasmine. And my little Kalen got to be Batman's sidekick, Robin. This year was a first for us: we invited some of Ashton's school friends to his birthday party. I told Ashton he could invite four of his friends over. He chose to invite Gatlin, Gavin, Braden, and Quaid. Needless to say, we had a lot of kiddos running around this year! He got a lot of Batman toys, and his Aunt Alanna bought him a big bat cave so he was pretty thrilled:)

Since we live in Utah, we actually did our trick-or-treating on Saturday the 30th. Kale was working days, so I took the kiddos out. We luckily made it out before the storm so the weather was a little chilly, but overall not too bad. We only went trick-or-treating for about an hour, and then I took the kids into town to stay the night at my dad's. My dad has been off hunting for the last few months and has hardly seen the kids, so we planned a day where they could stay the night with him. The kids and grandparents were thrilled!!!

My Happy 4-Month Old:)

2010-09-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

My little Kalen turned 4-months old on the 19th:) On one hand, I can't believe it's already been 4 months since we were blessed with our little man; and on the other hand, it's hard to believe that is has only been 4 months since it seems like he's always been a part of our family. Funny how that happens:) I love seeing Kalen's little personality come out...he seems to be somewhere in the middle of Ashton and Kamryn. I'm curious to see if this will continue as he gets older. He is usually a happy little guy, although his grouchiness comes out when he is hungry and tired. Kalen is a very smiley kid and he laughs more and more everyday; the kids really enjoy trying to make him laugh and Kalen loves every minute of their entertainment:)

I have a strong feeling that Kalen will be a very active kid, as he has always been a very active baby. He very rarely will lay down for any period of time. He likes to sit up so he can see what's going on everywhere. He also likes to stand on my lap facing away from me of course so he can see. Kalen is not too fond of tummy time and gets very frustrated that he cannot move from that position...he will definitely be a crawler! He can roll from his tummy onto his back and nearly from his back to his tummy, but doesn't really care to all that much because it involves laying down and he just might miss something going on:)

Kalen is definitely growing; I'm guessing he weighs in around 15 lbs. now. I'll know his exact measurements next week when I take him to the doctor for a check up and more shots. Kalen is an eater just like Kamryn. He eats 6 oz. at a time and I've just started him on rice cereal. This is our third day of the cereal-feedings and he is doing great! He seems to be enjoying the taste and texture more and more. In a few days, I'll start adding some fruits and veggies to his diet.

More things about Kalen: He LOVES to watch the other kids play; he'll stare at them for hours just smiling and laughing. He also LOVES to be in nothing but his diaper. Kalen drools non-stop...hopefully it's just drool and he's not starting teething yet (although it wouldn't surprise me if he was; Ashton was 7 months old when he started teething and Kamryn was 5 months old). He has found two great little things called hands and LOVES to suck on his fingers. I love my happy little 4-month old!!!!

Catching up...

2010-09-09T07:55:00.001-07:00

We have been extremely busy here in the Slaugh household as of late! Here are just a few of our current happenings:

Ashton: He started kindergarten on August 25th and he absolutely LOVES it!! I knew he would! It's kind of sad for me that he's so grown up now and doesn't need his mommy anymore:( I walked him into his school the first two days, and he didn't want me to after that. So now I just drop him off at the front of the school and drive home. But I'm also very thankful that he is already so independent. Ashton's last rodeo was September 4th. He had a fun summer of mutton bustin' and can't wait for it again next year!

Kamryn: Not much that I can say about this girl...she's still the same as always. I didn't know how she would react with Ashton gone every morning, but she has been just fine. She doesn't seem to care much at all:) I've discovered that the older Kamryn gets, the stronger her personality grows...that makes me very nervous for the teenage years! She is still by far my hardest child! But gotta love her:)

Kalen: The little man is almost 4 months old already!! Can't believe how fast time flies! He is still a good little guy:) The older he gets, the more of his personality shines through. He is definitely going to be a mobile kid very early in life: he can roll from his belly to his back, almost roll from his back to his belly, and gets up on both knees trying to crawl during tummy time. Kalen is a lot like Ashton in the fact that he LOVES to stand and hates to sit. We spend a lot of our day holding him up so he can see what's going on everywhere. His hand-eye coordination is getting better everyday and he is getting pretty good at grabbing objects now. I bought him a walker so he'd have a place to sit up when I cannot hold him; he is already scooting all over the kitchen:) He will have his 4-month checkup in a few weeks so I can see how much he's grown!

Kale & Devon: Kale has been deer and elk hunting since August 21st. He hasn't had much luck so far this year, but he still has another week to hunt. I'm sure all of his hard work will pay off eventually:) I've been trying to get in a few days of work here and there when Kale is home to watch the kiddos. He's such a great husband! I've also been trying to go to the high school volleyball practices as much as possible. Our women's league starts in Rock Springs on September 19th, so I'm very excited about that!

Slaugh Family Reunion

2010-06-21T06:39:00.000-07:00

We've had our first camping trip of the year! Kale and I and the kids went down to Little Hole this last weekend for the Slaugh Family Reunion. This was the first time in 3 years that we've been able to go down and the first time in 4 years that we've actually stayed and camped. We decided to stay in a tent this year instead of hauling our camper down. Kale had to work the first 3 days of the reunion so we could only stay a few days and didn't want to haul our camper down the 27 miles of TERRIBLE dirt roads to stay for such a short time. Staying in the tent was okay; it was really, really cold the first night and me and the kids all froze! The second night went a lot better as we were much better prepared and borrowed some extra blankets and sleeping bags.

Since we were only bringing a tent, we were able to haul our ranger down with us. I LOVE having a ranger; they are so much fun! We went on a long ride in the ranger down to the lake to fish. The lake was 15 miles from our camp, but we got there so much faster than if we were going to drive the truck. At one point on our way home, we had it going 50 MPH!

Unfortunately, I am the worst at taking pictures! I remembered to bring my camera with me, but once we got down to camp, I was so busy that I forgot about it. So I only took two pictures while we were there:( Since Kalen slept most of our trip, he was wide awake at 5:30 a.m. on the morning we were leaving; Ashton and Kamryn were both completely knocked out from playing so hard and I had to actually wake them up to eat breakfast. I would also like to mention that Kale and I are the horseshoe champions of Little Hole. We were undefeated for the whole weekend!

My New Little Niece

2010-05-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

I have an adorable new little niece! Hallee Shae Gahley was born on May 25, 2010. She weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz. and was 18.5 inches long.

I'm excited to have another niece and I think it's so neat that Kalen and Hallee are only 6 days apart:) All of my kids have a cousin that they are close to in age: Ashton and Zane are 12 days apart and Kamryn and Hadlee are 5 weeks apart.

Kalen Wesley has Arrived!

2010-05-21T05:26:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to our little man Kalen Wesley Slaugh!!!!!! He was born at 11:33 a.m. on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County.

The morning of the 19th started out very early for Kale and I. Tuesday night Kale was scheduled to work graveyards, but decided to only work half of the night so he'd be able to come with me to the hospital in the morning. He got home from work around 1 a.m. and we were up around 4 a.m. getting ready to go. We dropped the kids off at my dad's house around 5 a.m. and headed to the hospital.

After getting all checked in, I was taken to my labor/delivery room to get settled in. It was a busy morning at the hospital with another induction and a cesarian section. The poor nurses had a very hard time with my IV; I was not at all surprised by this though, as I also had problems the first two times around. I think I may have to world's smallest veins! I ended up getting poked five different times by three different nurses. After the IV was started, I was given pitocin. Since I was already dilated to 4 cm, I didn't have much further to go. The pitocin seemed to take awhile to get my contractions really going this time, but when it did they got bad in a hurry! I finally got my epidural around the time I was 7 cm dilated. For some strange reason, after receiving my epidural my blood pressure dropped to 78/42 so I had to lay flat on the bed and they increased my fluids until it came back up.

When I reached 10 cm, Starla (my midwife) came up and after about five or six pushes, we had our little man. He weighed in at 8 lbs., 1.5 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. I was surprised that he was already this big at 2 weeks before my actual due date!

Ashton and Kamryn got to come in and see their baby brother as soon as he was all cleaned off and checked out. They were both so excited that he was finally here!

Kalen and I both were discharged the next day. We are both doing really well and are so glad to be home!

Any Day For Baby Kalen!

2010-05-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

I have finally hit 37 weeks which means I am officially full term and could have our little man at any time! My midwife, Starla, checked me at my last appointment and I am about 3 cm dilated and between 70% and 80% effaced. These last couple of days I have had tons of contractions, some of them were even a little painful so I don't think it'll be too much longer.

My next appointment is Tuesday the 18th and I will be one day shy of 38 weeks. If I've made any more progress since then (which I'm thinking I definitely will have) and Starla will be available that weekend, we might go ahead and get me delivered. Otherwise, I am definitely scheduled for an induction on May 24th.

Ashton's Preschool Graduation

2010-05-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today was Ashton's graduation from preschool. He was so excited and loved wearing the little cap and gown! I was very blessed when it came to preschool. Ashton absolutely LOVED it! He never complained one time about having to go. He loved his teacher, Mrs. Tinker, and all of his classmates too. This year, there were 12 students in preschool: 10 boys and 2 girls. Ashton learned so much this year and I am very proud of all he has accomplished!

During the graduation ceremony, all of the students were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. Ashton decided that he wants to become a horn hunter...what a cutie!

35 Weeks and Counting

2010-04-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

Well I've made it to 35 weeks! That means only 5 weeks until my due date and only 2 weeks until I'll be full term! If this little guy is anything like his brother or sister, we'll be expecting him in probably 3 or 4 weeks. I can already tell that he's dropped down a little bit. I have an appointment with my midwife on Tuesday; after that, I'll start my weekly appointments.

I can't believe this pregnancy is almost over! It seems to have gone by so fast, which is good and I won't complain about that. I think I have most of my essentials already, but still have to pick up some little odds and ends before baby Kalen gets here.

I'm also starting to get nervous. Not so much about the labor and delivery part or having a newborn, but how the heck I'm going to get to the hospital from way out here in Manila! When I went into labor with Kamryn, I only had to drive from Green River to Rock Springs and it was the longest drive of my life! Now I'm looking at an hour drive...it kind of freaks me out! I'm praying that if I go into labor on my own, Kale will at least be home from work. Unfortunately, I don't think it will happen that way; I'm pretty sure I'll go into labor in the middle of the night when Kale is on graveyards!

Guess It's Time to Update...

2010-02-25T05:44:00.001-08:00

I guess since I haven't posted anything in over a month, I better get some updates going.

This last month and a half I've been extremely busy working two jobs: the first at the medical clinic and the second as the cheerleading advisor for the high school. All of this working, along with my other two little ones and being pregnant, has left me basically exhausted.

Our little baby boy is doing well. My last doctor's appointment was February 11. I am measuring right where I am supposed to be and baby's very, very active. We have finally come to a decision on his name (I hope!). We are going to name him Kalen; however, we are still deciding on a middle name. I am currently 26 weeks which means only 14 more to go! My next appointment on March 11 is the dreaded glucose screening test!

Kale and I finally fulfilled a 7 year wish last weekend to attend a Utah Jazz basketball game. My aunt's boss has season tickets that he was giving away to anyone that wanted them so she grabbed some for us. The seats were pretty good; we sat at the top of the lower bowl right on the aisle. It was so much fun! I've never been to a game before and Kale hasn't gone since he was in junior jazz years and years ago. I'm also excited to report that next month, we are going to go to another Jazz game! This time we bought tickets that are right across from the visitor's bench and are in the third row; we'll be right in all of the action this time! GO JAZZ!

It's a BOY!

2010-01-16T06:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had my 20 week ultrasound. It's one of my favorite appointments, but is also a little scary until they get finished and tell you that everything with your baby looks fine. Anyway, the doctor checked everything out and said it all looked great. The baby weighs approximately 14 oz. now; the doctor said it would probably weigh between 7 1/2 and 8 lbs at birth which is right where my other two were. Then he asked if there was anything else we would like to know. Of course we wanted to know the sex of the baby. I was scared he wasn't going to be able to tell because of the position of the baby, but luckily the baby gave us a little sneak peek. Much to my surprise, it is a BOY!

Kale and I both really wanted to have another little boy (girls are TOO MUCH DRAMA!), Ashton was dying to have a little brother, and Kamryn wanted a little sister (although I know she doesnt' truly understand what's going to happen). Ever since I got pregnant, I was convinced it was going to be a girl. This baby's heartbeat is in the 150's just like Kamryn's always was and I'm carrying this baby high just like Kamryn too. I have also been trying to prepare Ashton for the fact that he wasn't going to get a little brother like he desperately wanted. I even had two girl names picked out already:) Kale and I also made our own little bet, so now Kale gets to get a total of FOUR tattoos before I can even get one! But all in all, we are thrilled to be expecting another little man!!!!

Slaugh Baby #3

2009-11-16T13:09:00.001-08:00

We got the first pictures of our new baby today at my doctor's appointment! I am almost 12 weeks so I will be out of the first trimester very soon:) The baby's heartbeat was very fast at 160 beats per minute. Kale and I brought the kids with us to this appointment and they loved hearing the baby's heartbeat and getting to see what the baby looked like.

Ashton is 5 Years Old!!!!!

2009-10-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, October 28th, my little man turned 5 years old! He has grown up so fast; it seems impossible that he could be getting that old:(

This year, we had a transformers birthday party. Ashton loves that movie and he is going to be BumbleBee for halloween. He got a BumbleBee cake too.

Ashton has always been spoiled rotten from the day he was born and this year was no exception. Kale and I bought him a brand new compound bow for little kids. He thought that is was just great that he now has a bow just like his daddy's. The bow also came with three new arrows, a quiver, sight, and an arm guard. Kale took him outside to shoot it and he actually did a lot better than we had expected him to. He shot the deer on his new target grandpa bought him on his first try:)

Here we go for round 3...

2009-09-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

If you've looked at my blog lately, you have probably figured out that Kale and I are expecting our third baby!!!

We found out on the 21st that I was pregnant again. When we told the kids, Ashton said that is was awesome and he definitely wants a little brother. He also said Kamryn wants a little sister, so I guess he wants me to have twins:) Kamryn said she wanted a new little baby, but I know she doesn't really understand what I meant.

After I had Kamryn, I was certain we weren't going to have any more kids, so I got rid of ALL of my baby stuff! So now I'm in the market once again, but I'm really excited; I love buying baby stuff!

The baby is due June 2, 2010!

First Week of Preschool

2009-09-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

Well we made it through Ashton's first week of preschool! Kale and I both took him to preschool on Tuesday. It was just a short day so the kids could get oriented to what they would be doing when they came and I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork. Ashton did wonderful that first day and he was so excited to get to go again the following day!

Wednesday was his first real day of preschool. I actually had to drop him off at school this time and leave him for three hours. Kale was hunting so I took Kamryn with me and let me tell you she wasn't very impressed with having to leave him there! She wanted to stay too. Kamryn and I went and picked Ashton up at 11 o'clock. He had glued some pictures on a paper to bring home and was pretty proud of himself! He said he had a lot of fun going to preschool. Lisa, the preschool helper, said that he was wonderful which made me very happy:)

Getting ready to go to preschool

His bull riding backpack

Kale's Archery Buck

2009-08-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

Kale has been lucky again and got his second archery buck. That's two years in a row for him! Good job honey!

Rodeo Updates

2009-07-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

Since the last time that I wrote, Ashton has been to his second rodeo. This rodeo was a lot more organized than the first one and the ambulance was there when it was time for the calf riding.

Ashton was the third to ride in this rodeo and he actually got the same calf that he had the first time. This calf always comes running out of the chute and Ashton fell right off just like his first ride. But this time when he hit the ground, he fell right on his face and stomach! He got to his knees, but he had to get help up because it knocked the wind out of him. After he got his breath back and the dirt out his mouth and eyes, he simply said, "Well, at least I didn't hurt my head," and off he went. Thankfully, it did not scare him one bit and he still can't wait until his next ride!

I signed Ashton up for mutton busting at the Red Desert Roundup Rodeo on Friday, July 24, in Rock Springs. He rides at 7 p.m. so anyone attending the rodeo, come early so you can see him! The next Cow Country Jr. Rodeo in Manila is August 10 at 6 p.m.

Ashton's First Rodeo

2009-06-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

My lil Ashy was in his very first rodeo on Monday! I entered him into two events: the goat ribbon pull and pee-wee calf riding. The goat ribbon pull was really easy (the kids just had to run and grab a ribbon off a little goat's tail) but he thought it was a lot of fun still. Pee-wee calf riding was supposed to be the second event in the north arena, but it was postponed because the ambulance had an emergency call and they wouldn't let the kids ride until it was back. So we waited several more events and finally the ambulance made it back to the rodeo. I figured since it was back that they would go ahead and do the calf riding, but no I was wrong! They made us wait clear until the end of the rodeo. Ashton didn't get to ride until 11 o'clock at night! I was so mad!!! The poor little guy was so tired that I had to continuously talk to him so he wouldn't fall asleep. Kale's whole family, my dad, my grandpa, and our friends from Green River all came out to watch Ashton ride, but since it took a lot longer than expected most of them left and missed his first ride:( I even had to send Kami home with Kale's sister because she was so tired and cranky. Needless to say, I was very disappointed in the rodeo!

But anyway, Ashton got to ride a calf named Black Magic. The calf basically just ran out of the chute and Ashton fell right off. This was his first calf ride all by himself and the first one where he actually fell off onto the ground. But he got right back up and he made sure to wave at the crowd. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!!! Kale and I were so proud of him! After Ashton rode, I left to go pick up Kamryn. I figured Kale and Ashton would come right home since Ashy was so tired, but they actually stayed until the end of the rodeo. It was about midnight when they finally got home. And Ashton was wide awake! Riding that baby calf was one of the funnest things Ashton has ever done. He just absolutely loved it! So I guess we're going to be lifers at the rodeo now.

It's Rodeo Time!

2009-06-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

Ashton will be participating in his first ever rodeo on Monday, June 15 and we are so excited! I am entering him into the goat ribbon pull and pee-wee calf riding. He's been OBSESSED with bull riding since he was about 1 1/2 years old, and now his dream of being in a rodeo is coming true!

My dad and stepmom bought Ashton a brand new bull riding helmet so he could ride in the rodeo. He loves it, especially because it looks just like all the professional bull riders's helmets. Kale and I also bought him some brand new cowboy boots and a new cowboy hat. He will eventually be getting his own real calf riding rope so he will have one for his next rodeo in July. I'm so proud of him!

Branding Cows

2009-05-31T05:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, our family went out to Birchcreek to Kale's dad's ranch to help brand cows. The kids were way excited to go. The kids and I helped brand last year for the first time and Ashton loved it! He rode his first baby calf last August and was ready to ride again this year. He wore his cowboy boots, cowboy shirt, and his hat this time and brought his bull riding bag (which contains his chaps, vest, bull rope, and glove).

Ashton rode the first baby calf and absolutely had a blast! Then his best friend/cousin Zane also rode the baby calf. Kale did hang on to Ashton because he doesn't have a bull riding helmet yet. Ashton had so much fun riding the first time that he did ride a second baby calf. This time he got bucked off into the mud (which he absolutely loved because that's what happens to Lane Frost in 8 Seconds). Ashton and Zane, the two 4-year-olds, were the only kids that would ride the calves.

The men (and my niece Aubree who was giving all the shots) branded 18 calves. It took about three hours for them to get done. Kale came back to the house injured. He was trying to catch a calf and he fell down with the calf on top of him and got kicked and stepped on. I don't think he's seriously hurt, but he is extremely sore today!

Early Mother's Day Gift

2009-05-10T05:47:00.001-07:00

Kale surprised me yesterday morning with my mother's day gift when he got home from work. I actually didn't really expect him to buy me anything more than maybe a card. And I really didn't think he'd have the time to do any shopping since he's working nights.

Well Friday night, Kale and Charley left for work an hour early. They told me they had to run to Home Depot to get some cement bags. Usually when Kale tries something sneaky like this, I know something is up. But for whatever reason, I truly believed they were going to Home Depot. When he got home on Saturday morning, he told me he had something for me. I thought he bought me a candy bar like he bought for the kids. But then he wouldn't allow me to go into our room, so I knew he got me something else.

Anyway, Kale bought me a necklace with a see-through heart locket. Inside, there is a heart that says mom, a heart with my birthstone, an "A" for Ashton, a little girl with Kamryn's birthstone, and a little guy with Kale's birthstone. I LOVE it! Thanks Kale. I love you.

And now I have a second job

2009-05-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I put in an application at the medical clinic here in town (yes, we do have an actual doctor that lives and works here) for a part-time receptionist. A few weeks later, I came in for a screening with the doctor and CNA. I waited another couple of weeks and no word about the job. I knew that no one else had been hired, so I thought they might be waiting to hire until this summer.

Well the other day, I got a call asking if I could come down for another interview with the main boss, Kenny. He was coming down from Uintah Basin Medical Center in Roosevelt, which is who employs the people working at the clinic. I got there, and there was another lady waiting to be interviewed also. After we were both interviewed, he decided to hire both of us. He felt we were both very qualified to work there and he couldn't decide who would be better to hire.

I'm really excited about this job because I will actually be doing something that I went to school for. It's just part-time so I won't have to work a lot or miss much time with my family. And since they hired two of us, it won't interfere with cheerleading practice and games.

Tomorrow, I have to go down to Roosevelt to get a background check, take a drug test, and fill out all the paperwork so I can start my new job. I'll have to go back down on the 12th for the new employee orientation and first aid certification and a couple of more times for training. I'm so excited to start my new job!

Sorry...I Gotta Vent!

2009-04-30T08:50:00.000-07:00

So ever since we bought our house out here in Manila, we've been dying to have a garage. All of our "garage stuff" is currently being stored in our kitchen pantry and it is packed full. So way back in February, we decided that we would go ahead and get started lining up our financing so we could have our garage built by spring time. We decided to do a cash out refinance. It was a lot harder to find a place that would do this for us than I originally thought (a. because we have a manufactured house and b. because we've owned it less than a year). But finally I got ahold of Wells Fargo Financial in Rock Springs and they could do exactly what we wanted. We met with the store manager Beth on February 27 and started our loan request. It took several weeks to get our rate locked in, but finally they sent me the paperwork and we were locked in at 5% interest and $35,000 cash back.

I thought everything was going well, but apparently it wasn't. We waited a month for an appraisal only to find out that they would not come out and appraise our house until they had an engineer's certification that our house was correctly attached to a permanent foundation. We waited another couple of weeks for Wells Fargo to hire an engineer to come out and certify our house, and of course no word from them. Last week, we took it upon ourselves to find an engineer on our own and made an appointment for yesterday. It was going to cost us $470, but we really wanted to get this going so we agreed to pay it out of our own pocket.

The engineer called me on Monday and asked if he could come out a day early and do our certification. So he came out Tuesday morning and I paid him $200 and we were to pay the rest when we closed our loan. Right after he left, Beth from Wells Fargo called and said she had some bad news. She said the FHA guidelines had changed on February 1, so we could no longer receive our loan because we haven't owned our house a year. I was SO PISSED! We've been waiting for two months to get this loan. We had our garage and concrete all lined up, we had the building permit lined up, and I had just paid half to the engineer to certify our foundation. Now we have to wait until September to do our refinance and get our garage built. EWWW I HATE WELLS FARGO SO BAD!!!

Got The Job!!!

2009-04-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at 9 a.m., I was officially offered the cheerleading advisor job! I'm so excited! And I'm already busy figuring out when and how to conduct tryouts for head cheerleader. I can't wait for the season to actually start!

Kamryn's Second Birthday!

2009-04-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was little Miss Kamryn's second birthday. We had a Disney Princess party at our house for her. Our entire family was here, which if you know our family you know that's a lot of people! This was the first party at our house since it has been finished. It is SO much easier to have parties here than at our former house because we have so much more room!

We ate giant Subway sandwiches and had a yummy Princess cake! Kamryn was of course spoiled rotten with her gifts. She got three new babies, a new kitchen with tons of food, a stroller, books, purses, a Barbie cell phone, Tinkerbell doll, a Tinkerbell dress with wings, a princess Barbie, a little stuffed weiner dog, her very own vaccuum, and pom-poms. I think Kamryn's favorite gift was the pom-poms. And Ashton (and Zane and Braxton, too) LOVED the kitchen.

Cheerleading Advisor Interview

2009-04-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I put in an application to be the Manila High School cheerleading advisor for the 2009-2010 school year. Yesterday, I had my interview with the hiring committee which consisted of Mr. Northcott, superintendent; Mr. Gonder, MHS principal; Kim Stephens, school counselor; and Venetia Beck, former cheerleading advisor.

I was given a list of questions I was going to be asked before I was interviewed. Kim read me all the questions, and as I answered the committee was writing down notes about my answers.

My interview went pretty well I think. I should hear if I got the position in the next day or two.

Easter

2009-04-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

This Easter, we didn't do a lot of fun stuff, but the kids still enjoyed it! Saturday before Easter, we went on an easter egg hunt at the park just down from our house. Both of the kids got tons of eggs. It was a little cold, but they didn't seem to mind. Kale was working nights, so he missed the easter egg hunt.

Easter Sunday, the kids and I had to run into town to go grocery shopping. I really didn't want to go on Easter, but we were out of food! Around 1 p.m., we went down the road to Casey and Audrey's house and had an excellent Easter dinner.

International Sportsman's Expo

2009-03-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, our family drove down to Salt Lake to go to the International Sportsman's Expo. We went two years ago and took Ashton (I was 8 months pregnant with Kamryn at the time) and it was a lot of fun. I'm not into hunting and fishing like Kale is, but I have to say that I even enjoyed the expo a lot. We weren't able to go down last year, so we tried really hard to make it this year.We only got to stay about three and a half hours (which is not nearly enough time for Kale!) because we wanted to make it home before dark. The kids enjoyed themselves for most of the time. They got to go fishing in the little fish pond and Ashton caught two fish all by himself. Kamryn was more interested in swinging the pole around than actually fishing so she watched Ashton most of the time.

They had two bear cubs there that you could hold and take a picture with. We tried to get both kids in the picture, but Kamryn would not cooperate, so Ashton held the bear by himself. He loved it!Hopefully, we are able to make it down again next year and stay a little bit longer.

Yeah...Kale is just a little bit spoiled

2009-03-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

So about a week ago, we were headed to town to go grocery shopping. On our way, we heard an advertisement on the radio about a big auto sale going on at the events complex. We've been wanting to get rid of our truck for awhile now, so we decided we would go and check the sale out. We got there and looked around, but didn't really see anything we liked. A salesman came over and asked us what we were looking for. As he was looking around trying to find something we would like, Kale spotted a red Dodge sitting off to the side. The salesman said they had just taken it in on trade and asked if we would like to test drive it. So of course we did. And we liked it. So we went inside and I had to make a deal with the salesman. They basically traded us straight across for our truck and we ended up with a newer truck and a $120 less payment. Kale was sad to see his other truck go, but he is starting to really like the new one.

The whole truck buying process took about four hours to complete. We had both kids with us, and as you can imagine, they were not happy campers by this point. We left Rock Springs and Kamryn and I went grocery shopping and Kale and Ashton went to the archery shop. Anyone that knows Kale probably knows that he is completely obsessed with hunting, especially archery hunting. He sold his old bow to his little brother, so he needed to buy a new one for this hunting season. Luckily, Hoyt (his favorite brand) came out with a brand new bow just recently. It's called the Hoyt Alpha Max, and it's the best bow on the market right now. So after buying a new truck in Rock Springs, Kale headed to Green River and bought the Alpha Max (set up) for a whopping $1100!!! Yeah...Kale is just a little bit spoiled!

Truck For Sale

2009-02-11T06:55:00.000-08:00

We have decided to try and sell our truck. So if anyone is interested, it is a 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab. It only has 30,000 miles on it. It has a 4 inch Tough Country lift, 18 inch chrome wheels, and new BF Goodrich A/T tires. It is a diesel and it runs great!

Looking Back at 2008

2008-12-31T08:23:00.000-08:00

Looking back at 2008, it was a rollercoaster year! We started off the year as usual. Our first big milestone was Kamryn's first birthday in April. Her first year seemed to go so fast! She went from a little baby and grew up into a little girl.

Next, Kale accepted a new job as miner operator at OCI. The move consisted of changing crews, which meant a completely opposite schedule for him. But he has truly enjoyed his new position!

Probably our biggest change was deciding to move to Manila. We had talked about moving in the past, but I was never completely sold on the deal. We had some friends who lived in Rock Springs move out there, which really got me thinking about the idea seriously. Next thing I knew, I was online house hunting. I found some really good deals on houses in Manila, so Kale and I decided we would go ahead and make the move. We put our house up for sale the end of May and a month and a half later, we accepted an offer. We closed on our house August 1st, and headed out to Manila for life in our camper. After much deliberation, we decided to buy a fixer upper in the middle of town. Kale got to work and we remodeled our entire house! It was tons of work, but I absolutely love it now that it's finally getting finished.

My mom was diagnosed with bi-lateral breast cancer in August. She had to undergo a double mastectomy, reconstruction, and the removal of her lymph nodes in October which meant a trip down to Phoenix for me and the kids. She will still have to have radiation treatment starting in January, but she has recovered nicely from everything else and even got to make the trip down for Christmas to stay with us.

My grandmother passed away in October also. It was very unexpected and very hard on me especially. I am so thankful that my grandpa is doing as well as he is. We all miss her greatly, but I know she is watching over all of us.

Ashton turned four years old in October. It makes me so sad to see him growing up! He will attend preschool next fall, and I am almost in tears every time I think about it!

Thanksgiving was spent with Kale's family and Christmas was split between my dad, my mom, and Kale's family. My mom was able to come stay with us for a full week. This is the first time she got to see our new house, so it was pretty special. We also introduced a new member to the family in December. Our new little puppy Squirt.

I'm really looking forward to 2009 and I can't wait to see what surprises it will bring!

Early Christmas

2008-12-20T06:37:00.000-08:00

We had an early Christmas last Thursday with my dad and stepmom. We usually celebrate Christmas with them a little early every year because my mom comes down from Phoenix and spends Christmas at our house.

Ashton was thrilled that he was going to get to open up some presents. Kamryn was too little last year to remember Christmas, so she really didn't understand what we were going to do. We started opening presents a little after 7 p.m. after my sister arrived. You would not believe the pile of presents that the kids had!

Kale and I received a Wii fit, Cabela's Dangerous Hunts Wii game, a bull elk calendar, several hunting videos, a back-of-seat gun holder, a roto saw, coyote decoy, Herbergers gift card, and some carbon monoxide and smoke/fire detectors (we only have one in our house!). I was so excited to get the Wii fit because I've been wanting to get one.

Ashton got a Fisher Price Smart Cycle and Go Diego Go game, camouflage bull riding vest and chaps, a cowboy up bull shirt, hunting videos, a toy gun equipped with a scope and bullets, a kids digital camera, camouflage coat, camouflage sweatshirt with matching hat and gloves, and camouflage snow boots.

Kamryn received a Disney princesses hippity hop, Tinkerbell and Sleeping Beauty movies, a mini Sleeping Beauty lunchbox, camouflage snow boots, cute little brown and pink boots, a camouflage dress, a pink suede outfit, and a cabbage patch baby.

The kids had a blast opening presents! And they loved everything they got. And of course, they will be even more spoiled next week on Christmas!

New Lil Puppy!

2008-12-15T16:45:00.000-08:00

We've got the cutest lil puppy you've ever seen! His name is Squirt and he's a six-week-old miniature dachshund. We just picked him up today in Mountain View for the kids for Christmas. The kids are so in love with our little dog already, especially Ashton! He wants to teach him how to play games on the Wii and watch Kung Fu Panda with him:) Kale and I were both a little worried about how Kamryn would react to the dog because she is usually afraid of them. But surprisingly, she's not scared of him at all. She even held him on the way home from Mountain View.

We've actually been thinking about getting a dog for awhile now. Ashton has always wanted one; and we told him we could get one when we moved out to Manila. Kale was the one who really wanted a dachshund because he had two when he was little and they were the best dogs he's ever had. I wanted a small dog as opposed to a big one, so a dachshund worked well for me also. We actually found a number of puppies for sale, but most of them were located in the Salt Lake area. We called on a couple of them, but it was hard to secure one because we couldn't give a definite date to pick one up. Luckily, we found an ad for four mini dachshund puppies located in Evanston. I called and the lady was willing to meet us in Mountain View if we wanted one. I'm not going to say how much we paid for this little guy, because it was sort of a lot. But after looking at tons and tons of ads, no purebred dachshunds are cheap. Even though we paid more than we wanted to, seeing the kids so happy was absolutely priceless!

Good ole potty training

2008-12-11T08:03:00.001-08:00

So I decided to buy Kamryn a cute Dora potty so I could attempt to start potty training her. Ashton was a PAIN to potty train, so I've been dreading having to do it all over again. But as I've been told several times, girls are much easier so I decided I would go ahead and start.

I brought the potty home, and she loved it! But the first thing she did was take it apart. She used the bottom part as a bucket and kept filling it up with whatever she could find to fit in there and dumping it out. Then she used the green part as a bowl, filled it with cereal, and dumped the cereal in her mouth. She also thought the green part made a pretty cool hat. I'm sure this potty training experience will be just as eventful as the last!

Christmas Tree

2008-12-11T07:57:00.000-08:00

We put up our christmas tree last week, so I figured I would post a picture of it. Actually, Kale decorated the whole tree pretty much single-handedly as I was trying to keep Kamryn from disassembling the bulbs and opening the candy canes. Looks good Kale!

OCI Santa Visit

2008-12-06T06:50:00.000-08:00

Every year OCI buys all the kids whose parents work out there Christmas presents. An employee volunteers to dress up as Santa Clause and delivers the presents.

Last night, the OCI Santa came to our house. Ashton was thrilled! He had been waiting all day for him to get there, and he was behaving exceptionally well so he would definitely get a present. When Santa arrived, he opened the door for him and then ran through the living room yelling that Santa was here.

Kamryn wasn't very sure of Santa when he first arrived, but when he got closer to her she screamed at the top of her lungs until he left! We tried to get a picture of her and Santa with me holding her, but she wouldn't even have that. Both kids loved their presents though!

Great, Great, Great Thanksgiving News!!!

2008-11-27T06:34:00.000-08:00

I talked to my mom last night and she had great news for me! She does NOT have to have chemotherapy!!! I'm so thankful for that! I didn't want to see her have to suffer through it.

The Scottsdale Hospital sent samples of each breast tissue they removed in October to a lab located in California. They do extensive testing of the cancer found in the tissue. They determined the cancer was very low risk for spreading to other body areas.

The report on the lymph nodes my mom had to have removed came back also. Ten lymph nodes were removed and none of them were found to be cancerous.

Because of the findings in each of these reports, the oncologist felt my mom would not need to have the chemo treatments. What a great Thanksgiving present to her and the rest of our family!

Kitchen, Dining Room, Entry Way...Check!!!

2008-11-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

I FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY have a finished kitchen! My flooring was finished yesterday and my countertops were put in Monday. It looks absolutely awesome and even better than I pictured!

Now we have to wait until the 25th to have our vinyl installed in our bathrooms. We also have to get our pellet stove up and running and put trim throughout our entire house. But we are almost finished!

My Mom's Having Surgery Today...Again

2008-11-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

My mom is having surgery again today. She is getting all of the lymph nodes on her left side removed. Her surgery started at 11 a.m. and should take less than an hour to complete. This is fortunately an outpatient surgery, so she should get to come home after she wakes up and is feeling up to it. Thank you to her good friend Cindy for driving her to and from the hospital!

My mom is out of surgery and everything went well. The surgery took about 45 minutes to complete and about an hour in recovery. She said she feels a little sore, but not nearly as bad as her first surgery. She will go back to the doctor in one week and get the new drain and bandages removed. Hopefully this will be the last surgery she'll have to have!

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-11-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from Ashton the vampire and Kamryn the pink leopard!

Yay! We are FINALLY making some progress!

2008-10-31T10:28:00.000-07:00

We are finally getting some things accomplished with our house! It seems like we've been waiting forever for things to happen and now all of a sudden, everything is getting finished all at once.

Kale finished painting the entire house while I was gone to Phoenix. It looks so good, too! Our carpet got put in last Thursday. Last weekend we picked up all of our new furniture from John Paras. We also picked up our new appliances from Home Depot (although our fridge was broken, so they had to order us a new one). And we finally got to move in! It's nice to have a house again. The camper was getting very, very old. But anyway, my dad and Kale emptied one of our storage units and got the rest of our furniture up to the house. Our cabinets were shipped to our house on Wednesday, and the installer was here at 8 a.m. Thursday morning to begin the installation process. Our kitchen is pretty big, so it's going to take him two days to finish. The countertop installer came today to measure for our Corian countertop. After we get that ordered, it should take about two weeks until it's installed. We are picking up our newly ordered fridge and the rest of our laminate flooring on Monday. Hopefully, the rest of our flooring will be put in early next week. Then finally, we will be done!

Ashton turned 4 years old!!!!

2008-10-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

Ashton turned 4 years old on Tuesday, October 28, 2008. Of course, he had a rodeo-themed birthday. All of his cousins got to come over and play. We ate pizza and cake. Ashton got a hunting set which includes two hunters, a four-wheeler, tree stand, two bows, and three rifles; two new bulls: Blueberry Wine and Bo Howdy; camouflage walkie talkies; binoculars; his new bed; several books; and new clothes and camouflage shoes.

I can't believe my little man is 4 years old. It seems not long ago that he was just little like Kamryn. Now he will be off to preschool next year. And I'm sure I'll cry my eyes out when he goes!

My Grandmother

2008-10-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

Patricia Ellen Crouch
September 3, 1936-October 10, 2008

My grandmother passed away suddenly on October 10, 2008. She had surgery the day before at Salt Lake Regional Hospital to replace two faulty valves in her heart. The surgery went well and my grandma was doing well that night after surgery. When her doctor tried to take her off all the medications they had been giving her, her body couldn't sustain her blood pressure. The doctors at Salt Lake Regional tried every possible thing they could to try to maintain her blood pressure, but without any success. The choice was made to take her off the medication, and she passed away.

This has been a really hard thing for me to deal with. My sister and I were always close to our grandma. She and our grandpa basically raised us when we were little; we were at their house everyday while our parents worked full time jobs. I never really knew my mom's mom; she died when I was very young, so basically my dad's mom was the only grandma I ever had. Even into adulthood, I would frequently go visit my grandparents. Especially after my kids arrived. My grandma absolutely adored both of my kids! It didn't matter how bad of a day she was having, she would always brighten up the second we walked through the door. I am so thankful that she got to meet and spend time with my kids and that my kids got to know their great-grandma. I am also thankful that she was there when Kale and I got married. She was really excited about our new house, and she would always tell the kids that she would come visit when we moved in.

Although I am deeply hurt that I will never get to see my grandma again, I am also somewhat thankful. My grandma has had very bad arthritis for almost as long as I can remember. She was always in pain and was constantly looking for some new medications to help her disease. She had to make frequent trips to the doctor which she disliked. And often times, she had to use a walker to get around the house. So at least now, she's not in pain anymore and I thank God for that.

More Mom Info

2008-10-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well the kids and I made it back from Phoenix yesterday. It was a fun trip, although being away from home for a week and a half is a long time and we were ready to come home.

My mom's surgery went well. She was in quite a lot of pain when we brought her home from the hospital, but was fine other than that. She received tons of food and get well wishes from her friends and family, so thank you to all who thought of her.

During my mom's surgery, her doctor removed six lymph nodes which were sent off to the lab to determine if the cancer had spread at all. I spoke to her today right after she got the pathology results back. The lymph nodes on her right side were found to be non-cancerous; but because of where the cancer was located on that side, her doctor recommended she have radiation treatment. One of the lymph nodes on her left side had a tumor on it, so she will have to have another surgery in a couple of weeks to remove all of the lymph nodes on that side. She will also have to undergo chemotherapy.

I was very sad to have to hear this news. She has already gone through so much, and now there's even more. But I am just trying to see the positive aspects and I figure it's better to be safe than sorry. My mom is strong and I know that she can get through this rough time and have a happy ending result!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

2008-10-10T13:37:00.001-07:00

I'm preparing to make a trip down to Phoenix, Arizona to visit my mom. Of course my kiddos are coming along and my sister is also. Kale, unfortunately, has to work and prepare the house for our flooring which is coming the middle of next week. Hopefully when I come back on the 21st, I will be able to come home to an actual house again!

We are headed down to Phoenix because my mom has to have surgery on the 13th, and she has named my sister and I her acting representatives in case of a medical emergency while she is in surgery. My mom was recently diagnosed with bi-lateral breast cancer, and she will be undergoing a double masectomy and reconstructive surgery. The entire surgery will take between 3 and 4 hours and includes a one night stay in the hospital. I have no doubt that the outcome of my mom's surgery will be positive. And after about 4 to 6 weeks of recovery, my mom should be back and work and back to normal.

October is breast cancer awareness month, so I just wanted to share that my mom will now be a breast cancer survivor. Luckily, she is an excellent example for all women and gets her yearly exams regularly. Therefore, the cancer was caught in it's early stages, and she will make a complete recovery. I also wanted to say that I am very proud of my mom for how she is handling all of this. She has never made one complaint or one negative remark about the whole situation. I'll update on her progress as it occurs.

My Little Munchkins

2008-10-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is the most recent picture of my little ones...well actually I guess they aren't so little anymore. Ashton will be turning 4 years old at the end of this month! And my little Kami is already 1 1/2 years old! I don't know where the time went!

Ashton is probably the most unique kid I've ever met in my life! I'm sure every parent thinks that about their child, but if you know him you would probably agree with me. After all, he is obsessed with bull riding (and has been since before he was 2 years old), and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he grew up to ride in the PBR. He spends his days watching bull riding videos, playing bulls, and riding his "bull" hippity hop wearing his cowboy hat and chaps. He always wows me with his knowledge of the sport too. He knows several actual bull riders and many, many of the bulls they ride. Quite an entertaining scene at my house :) If we are not bull riding (which is a VERY rare occasion), we are surely watching hunting videos or pretending to shoot some kind of animals. Thanks, Kale, for that aspect of our lives!

Kamryn is quite the opposite of my little man in the fact that she's very mean and always manages to get into something she is not supposed to be in. I have to watch her every minute of the day. I'm guessing it's a second child thing. She actually reminds me a lot of myself when I was a little girl. Physically, she looks just like me. And my mom is always telling me that I was quite the little handfull also. Isn't karma a wonderful thing! But I love her just as much as her brother. I'm not really sure what she'll be like when she's Ashton's age, but she also enjoys watching Ashy's hunting and bull riding videos. Ashton is quite convinced that she is going to be a barrel racer when she grows up...and that wouldn't surprise me either. All I can say is National Finals, here we come!!

Our New House

2008-10-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

We officially became Utah residents on August 1, 2008, after we sold our house in Green River. It was sad because we loved our house, but also exciting to start a new adventure. Kale grew up in Manila, so he was glad to be coming home. I, on the other hand, have lived in the Rock Springs/Green River area all my life and wasn't sure what to expect living in such a tiny town. But I have to say that I absolutely love it!!!

We recently closed on our new house here in Manila. We have yet to move in because we decided to remodel the entire house first. It has been a HUGE job, but we should at least be able to move in within a couple of weeks. It'll be nice to have a house again. And thank god for Kale; he has done all the work in the house so far all by himself! We are currently in the process of texturing and painting the interior of our house. After that is finished, we will be able to have our carpet and other flooring put in. In about a month, we should be able to rip out all of our old cabinets and replace them with our new ones, a $14,000 investment I might add! But it'll be worth it in the end.