What I did yesterday...

snip, snip, clip, clip, oh what a trippy trip

So a few weeks ago I decided to cut my hair.  I got out the trash can, wet my hair and pulled out the clipper box.  To my dissapoint there were NO scissors in the box.  Reggie bought new clippers when he moved up to Utah and I didn't come with scissors :(.  Well I decided that it was probably a good idea:).  Until...

I bought some NEW scissors :)  Well it has been a long week and I needed to feel like a woman again.  So without even thinking about it, I went from the shower directly to my brand new scissors.  I think it was partly due to an emotional breakdown that didn't totally come.  Anywho  I just started cutting without even knowing what I was doing.  I shed a few tears during the process thinking; what on earth am I doing.  Then a few laughs.  Kids screaming outside my door and the sound of the snip snip.  I am excited to say that I love it.  Being in Utah and very far away from my amazing stylist I was pretty nervous to find someone for my hair.  It isn't perfect (I am not Marie :)) but I did it and I am glad it is no longer driving me crazy.  This is not the first time I have done this, nor will it probably be the last.  But I am not always this lucky.  I have done a pretty bad job before :)

10 YEARS!!

I know...like you really wanted to see this. :)

Reggie and I just celebrated our Anniversary.  On May 3rd 2002 we became Eternal companions.  We have been married for 10 years!

I Love this man.  He is everything and more of what I need!  He is Amazing and so sweet.  When he first asked for my phone number I wouldn't give it to him, it took his friend begging before I gave it (I thought he liked my friend)  He called 2 weeks later and asked me on a date and I was busy.  So he asked for the next night and I had plans then too.  So I invited him over right then, and he came.  Good thing too because I'm not so sure he would have asked anymore after I was such a pain. Thank heavens for persistence. I guess I just had to make him work for it.  We were engaged another 2 weeks later on Valentines Day and married in May.  10 years later...four amazing kids and a dream life!

We are so glad to be together again.  Being apart was for the birds.  If we CAN be together then there is no reason to be apart.  I am SO glad we are all together again.  As of right now we dont know how long we will be here.  We are just waiting to here if there are more jobs and where they are.  We kind of hope we get to stay here for the next year before returning to Snowflake, but if we end up in Colorado or Wyoming then so be it.  Life lesson:  Life will NEVER not be crazy so LOVE it as much as you can while you can.(I am still working on this lesson) :)

We hope everyone back home and wherever else you might be that all is well.  We miss you all.

Choose the left when a choice...

'Choose the Right when a choice is placed before you'

So the other day I asked Kyler if he wanted to dry his hands on the towel on the left or the towel on the right. His reply: "Jesus doesn't want me to dry my hands with the left towel?" he asked me.

So cute. I LOVE this kid!!

I laughed so hard when I told Reggie what he said and of course he got SO mad. Poor kid hates when we laugh at him...even if he he had a cute embarrassed smile while yelling at us to stop. :)

'see ya soon'

Since we didn't know how long we would be gone, everyone suggested we say 'see ya soon'. It made it a little easier but leaving everyone and everything behind was much harder than I anticipated. The last couple days before leaving was making me realize how great life has been to me, and how much I LOVE living in Snowflake and knowing all the wonderful people I know. As it got closer to leaving we started realizing we will probably be gone closer to a year or maybe even two instead of a few months...how sad. My biggest worry was that we would find somewhere else to live and never come back. But it is very much in our sight to return to Snowflake as soon as we can. I feel AWFUL about taking the kids from their world, their friends, their school, their home. Moving the kids away from Snowflake has been the hardest part of this move. It has caused me to shed more tears than anything else. Like when Cooper starts crying at bedtime because he misses his bed back home or when Kira is sad because she misses her teacher or Kyler not knowing where his home is anymore...Lacee feeling confused because she doesnt know what is going on anymore. I also really miss my comfort zone. People here are great! I love our ward here...but nothing is like home.

A little about where we live in Utah. We live in a townhome. We are renting and it was all we could find that we could rent month to month so we are very grateful, but we are hoping to find something cheaper because it is SO expensive. It is bran-spankin new! 1400 sq. ft. 3 bed/2 bath house at the end of the cul-de-sac. We have a very small fenced in back yard...all concrete, but the kids just ride their bikes out in the road because we are the last building and there are no houses across the street. It has been great...there are kids EVERYWHERE in these townhomes...a true blessing to soften the move. We have never had such close neighbors. It has been nice but has also taken some getting use to. We have no washer and dryer-BUMMER! I hate going to the dirty laundry mat...I am keeping my eye out for a cleaner Laundromat. I mostly take all the kids by myself because Reggie works from 7am-5pm mon-fri and 7-3:30pm Sat. with an hour commute both ways. At least he has Sundays off :)

My Parents came to Snowflake and helped me move. I sent some stuff up with Reggies friend and then I filled my parents suburban and my van with whatever I could bring. Now is the time where you truly realize how much extra crap is in your house that you don't need. I tried to only pack what I NEED. I left almost everything behind since more than likely we will end up in a fifth wheel-CRAZY I know.

Homeschooling is going well...I suppose. Cooper had a really hard time at first, but has gotten better. Our first day of school was windy and a little cloudy. Cooper was WAY stressed and had to close all the blinds. He was freaking out all morning because of the wind. Reggie got to come home early because of the wind so that gave our first school day a pick me up. The first week I was literally handwriting the kids' worksheets because I had no internet and no printer...that was exciting. I got some great resources for online worksheets now, which is great. We have a schedule that has seemed to work out okay...but I am slowly trying to make it better. This is quite the learning experience. The kids wanted me to talk to them like I was really their teacher...I did for about half a day, just for fun. My poor kids probably think this is all some kind of joke. I thought I could get away with less time in the day for school but it pretty much takes us all day to get done what I have for them and I am still leaving things out everyday-oh well. We are doing our best.

Reggie is really enjoying his new job. Doing something besides plumbing for once has been really nice for him. He works at a power plant. The power plant is getting added onto and he is working with the new construction...fitting pipes together. Funny I know...sounds like plumbing right. Well it kind of is...just in a very different way.

Now to the best part of this whole she-bang. Being together! It is so important that our family stay together. Now that time has passed, the month we were separated just seems like a dream...a very interesting one. Our reunion was wonderful. I couldn't wait to give Reggie a big kiss and squeeze him tight, and just be held. Lacee (and Mommy) couldn't let him go. I am glad Lacee wasn't mad at him. She always such a Daddy's girl. It is a wonderful thing to witness the love going around. I can tell already how much closer our family has grown because of everything we have experienced. I know I could have done it-the whole staying apart thing, but it wouldn't have been fun or easy and we just didn't see the point of it. Now we are together and we won't choose that being separated thing again....except of course for hunting season :P

I just have to give a huge thanks to my parents and Reggie's parents and Reggies Aunt Joni. When it came down to crunch time it got so crazy but everyone was awesome. My kids were really great too. I sure love those toads. Even if they are 'Stink Toads'! I also want to say thanks to the many other people that just showed me love and support or offered to help me out. Everyone has been Amazing! Thanks! When it was finally time to leave...my care wouldn't start! Can you believe that! Actually I can totally believe it...and it was SO funny! My poor Dad didn't think it was very funny. He is really easily stressed out but he gave me a jump start and we were on the way. My Dad is great! He wants to make sure that everyone is very well taken care of. The plan was to drive 5 hours on Friday and 5hrs on Saturday. We had to stop an hour earlier because in Moab there were no hotel rooms because of some bicycle thing. We stopped in Monticello and my Dad called ahead to reserve two rooms but when we got there there was only one room. My allergies had been SO bad and I could not stop rubbing my eyes and I looked like a crazy person so my Dad got me that room and went to a different hotel and got their LAST room. It was crazy and my Dad was not too happy...but the hotel said if he passed by on the way back they would give him a free room. The kids and I had fun making pictures out of all the rocks on the way. Kyler didn't understand where Daddy was when we stopped at the hotel. He didn't realize we were going to see Daddy the next day.

Life...

Well I am sorry that I am not posting any pictures at this time but I am not exactly using my normal computer so I'll try to post some soon. I just wanted to jump on here and say how truly blessed I am. My life has been far from normal but it has been amazing to see daily miracles happening in my life. Reggie has been working in Utah for about a month. He found out about a job on February 13th and left on the 15th. He will be there till June or maybe longer. We were going to go when school got out but after him being gone only a short time we decided there is no point in being separated so me and the kids have been getting ready to go and we are ecstatic! Since I don't want to juggle my kids around schools I have decided to home school them the remainder of the year. I am actually super excited about it, and a little nervous. It is all a little much to take on and I couldn't do it without the heavenly help along the way. In the March Ensign the visiting teaching message talks about having your angels with you when you are keeping the commandments. I can truly attest to that. I am far from perfect but I know I am truly being blessed and there are angels around me every moment of every day as long as I am willing. Life this last month could have been harder if I would have let it but I chose to stay positive and even if I miss Reggie more than I can say, and life has been crazy, I know my Heavenly Father is blessing us everyday. Right now we are just SO busy getting ready to go. We leave in two days. I cant wait! 5 weeks is a long time to go without seeing my honey! I don't know how other people do it for longer :(
After a pretty rough first Sunday I was asking the kids about staying or going they wanted to be with Daddy but more specifically I want to share mine and Kira's conversation as I tucked her into bed that first Sunday night.
Kira: Mommy, are we lost?
Mommy: No, why?
Kira: Well, do you remember when we were at the store...I got lost...well you said we gotta stick together.
Kira: We need our family to be together so we are not lost.

Okay, wise child teaching Mommy a huge lesson! Who cares about the little things. Family needs to be together.

Well I should have already been to bed since I don't think my angels will help me in the morning if I keep them up late tonight :)

~Goodnight~ I will keep you posted when I can. UTAH----HERE WE COME!

And to my sweetheart--We miss you and Love you and can't wait to see you!

Oh My Baby!

Look at this little Sweetie!

I just can't believe that 12 months ago, this is what she looked liked.

Happy Birthday Lacee Lou!

"Mommy, why do I need to open my presents, my brothers and sister do everything for me."

Look everybody-a My Little Pony!

I am thinking I should just post the cake pictures without comment...lets just say that it was my first time using fondont on a cake.

I will let you guess if it was suppose to be straight or lopsided :)

Dig in Lace!

Those were pictures of her little birthday at home on her actual birthday. Now the next pictures are from July 2nd when we had a Fourth of July party/Lacee's birthday party with Reggies fam.

Here we have yet another cake...this one is specifically for Lacee.

Ready to let all the kids help her blow out her candles on a few of her cakes(I know I know...one would have been plenty)

A little bit of cake heaven...

Can someone please get me my drink...

Yummy!

We have four of the five Reed grandchildren.

Okay...so now for the highlight of the birthday party for Lacee and Mommy.

She took her first steps...for her Mommy and Daddy! Yahoo!

Can I just say that I was completely THRILLED!

I Love that Baby!

Lace found out why the kids were having so much fun...the sprinklers. Very exciting!

Well I hope everybody had a great 4th of July weekend! We sure did!

I just want to say a few things about my little chub a lub. Lacee is a snugli bugli! She loves how loved she is! She is a very sweet little girl. We are all very grateful for her. She absolutely loves her family. She is a Daddy's girl, a Mommy's girl, a brothers girl, a sister's girl and another brother's girl. She loves to be loved and give love. She is silly and fun and sensative. I am going to guess she weighs about 20lbs. and she only has two teeth on the bottom and a bunch that have been about to come in for several months now. Happy Birthday Robin Lacee, our big ONE year old!!

Happy Birthday Kira!

I realize it has been a while but here goes...

My daughter had a birthday and she is now 5!

So...Kira in a nutshell:

Yes-Kira is kissing a frog. We found this frog in our backyard and Kira immediately wanted to hold it and Cooper wanted so badly to be brave but he just could not convince himself he could make it alive-holding a frog. So Kira chased him around the yard holding the frog-her older brother-it was quite a site and Cooper was laughing too. That poor frog.

Well Kira also enjoyed kissing the frog...I wonder what her prince will end up looking like? :)

Well my little sweetie turned 5 and I just can't believe it. I simply cannot imagine my life without Beejo! She is so much fun and as Reggie says

"BIG spirit LITTLE body"

Kira is so full of life and it is wonderful!

Kira wanted a pony cake with strawberries around it...I didn't have vanilla frosting and kept forgetting so it was a crazy day...my Mother-in-law ended up getting the strawberries and ice cream and frosting right before the party(it wasn't a big deal though since it was just fam) Well anyway after some fun cake making this is what we came up with...and very quickly Reggie helped me by frosting the mane and tale and placing the strawberries(which I think he enjoyed-although Kira didn't realize it-her Daddy made sure to give the pony a strawberry dropping or two) anywho here is her "pony cake with strawberries around it" and she loved it!

Kira wanted her B-day at the park...so off we were.

some pics of the sweet little baby(poor child didn't get her hair done for Kira's big day-oh well)

Cheeseball!

Kyler and all his ness...

happy one second...

MAD the next...gotta love him!

This was funny...Cooper through one of Kira's glow in the dark bracelets on the roof of the park gazeebo and so Reggie lifted Cooper up to go and get it. When I took the picture and it flashed-Reggie thought it was police lights. BUSTED!

Happy Birthday Princess!

We Love You!

My little sweetheart is going to be in kindergarten next year-holy cow how time flies!

All summed up...sort of...

Feel free to skip the book and go straight to the pics on the many posts I put up tonight.

Okay, so I think I just need to get this off my chest. This last year, mostly just the last 4 months...

have been far from the best. And I really shouldn't complain because I have all my family here happy and healthy, but I just want to get this out of me. My biggest hope is that I will just cry and cry as I write this and not sleep because of all the crying. Because nothing does more good than a good ol' cry. It is already 12:41 am and I have worked my butt of today(yesterday-whatever day it is) and I am exhausted. I don't usually go to bed this late but I have got to get this done. Please don't judge me for all of my complaining, I'm just a wimp.

Well here goes nothin'. I would like to start off saying how much I HATE hunting season! HATE, HATE, HATE it. If I really were yelling, I would feel so much better right now already.

On June 29th 2010 we welcomed a new little baby into this world and into this crazy little(and by little I mean lot's of little people) family. I couldn't have been more excited about this little doll! I was not really expecting to have a girl and yet I really wanted one so my heart just soared when I saw she was a girl. Even though she looked nothing like her siblings to me(black hair?) I loved her instantly. I have wanted so badly to say that she is a good baby, and all that matters is that whenever we go out people always say what a sweet baby she is and how she never cries. She really is a good baby and gets better every single day.

Mid August Cooper started kindergarten. I am SO glad they don't have all day kinder here because, me and him couldn't handle that. It is hard enough as it is. At the same time Cooper started kinder, Kira started preschool. Just so you know I'm not a morning person. I'm not the usual non morning person though, because I really WANT to be a morning person, but I'm just NOT. It is SO hard for me to get up and out of bed in the morning. Morning is such a beautiful time and I would love to wake up about an hour before my kids do, that would be wonderful. But again-I CAN'T. I wait and wait until children are jumping on me for a while or crying for a bit. I don't just get out of bed(with the exception of a brand new baby-meaning like the first month). Well we now have schedules to keep-EVERY DAY. I realize I'm getting NO sympathy from all the moms out there with kids in school, and that's okay.

With Reggie's hunting he claims "it's only one weekend." PAH!! Sorry pal, you are NOT fooling me. First it's getting the gun ready, which means endless trips to go shoot his gun(sometimes we go, and sometimes it's exhausting, trying to keep ear muffs on everyone). And along with that he's off to his parents house making his bullets. Next he has to go scouting so he goes here and there. He's on the computer and on the phone, talking about 'hunting this and hunting that'. And then comes the week before the hunt when he has to work extra hard and long to make sure everything is taken care of while he's gone. And then there is the weekend or day before the hunt when it takes him FOREVER to pack up ALL his stuff. Doesn't this all sound so exhausting, to some of you this is just normal. It's normal to me but I still HATE it.

Reggie has gone elk hunting this Sept. and deer hunting this Oct., I just had a new baby, my 4th nonetheless. My kids started school and my poor baby is always hungry when I am hurrying like a mad woman trying to get Cooper out the door. I was doing some all day babysitting for someone who really needed it, and I think I also needed to do something for somebody else so I wasn't just having my own pity party, so it was probably a huge blessing.

With all my babies I have not been able to nurse them. I just don't have the milk supply I guess. I dang site don't go with out giving it my all though. I have tried teas and rest(that one didn't work so well ;) and different herbs and you name it. No matter what I do I have had to supplement with formula every time. (I would like to note that I am endlessly grateful to Katie and Sara who have always showed me 100% support and always made me feel good for the effort). Because no matter how many babies I have that I can't nurse, I always go into it saying I am going to nurse my babies. It seems like around 4 months they all just want to be done nursing all together and despite my stubbornness and the fact that they seem to love it, I lose every time. I really wanted to go until at least 5 mo and maybe longer and I knew I was going to. Hahaha, I fooled myself. 4th time around and I should have known better, but again dissapointment followed as almost instantly I was done. Well I made it 4 months, but that's all. But I'm glad I gave it my all. It is really sad for me sometimes, when I see people nurse their babies. And sometimes things will make me feel bad. Even though I know I can't help it, it is still really hard to know that I can't do what I am made to do as a Mother to my children and a Daughter of God. And then there is the regret I feel for carrying it on so long when part of me knew it wouldn't last. The stubborn part of me kept it going at times. Because I look back at how stressed out I was because ALL of my kids were feeling at least a small degree of neglect as I spent so much time feeding the baby. Even the baby got a certain amount of neglect because of it. But now, even though I am very sad to let that part of it go, I am starting to feel free. I feel like the chains are starting to be lifted but they were memory and a part of me. My kids, hubby and house are all feeling much more loved. It's just too bad I chose stubbornness over the feeling of love. If I were to repeat it, I would still do it all over again. My stubbornness must run really deeply.

Okay we're doing good, I am able to get out a few tears :) Let's recap, shall we...New baby, absent husband, neglected kids, crazy mommy, new never before heard of schedule ;) and to top it all off I am the WORST visiting teacher EVER! But I'm going to work on that.

It is important that I get out of bed no later than 7am (not that I do)

Feed kiddos,baby, then me(life of a Mommy, right?). Get some dishes done, everybody dressed(doesn't always happen). Cooper has to eat lunch at no later than 10:30am because he takes forever to eat. All the meanwhile Lacee is grumpy about 90% of the time during this little lunch time. We jump in the car to take him to the bus stop which was coming at 11:05-11:15 until (after we missed the bus for about a week) now it comes at 11am and takes off right away. Very frustrating for everyone involved. His school starts at 11:35am, so if I miss the bus I usually have to run home and quickly change a poopy diaper(morning seems to the magical time) or throw on some makeup(because I'm just a baby about that). On Tues. and Thurs. Kira has preschool from noon till 2pm. I p/u Kira at 2 and then p/u Cooper at 2:15pm What a day. On Wed. for a few weeks I had an extra kindergartener whom was in morning kinder and a preschooler and then a 1st grader after school. I am SO grateful that these kids are just absolute angels. Well all the meanwhile we(meaning I) have been doing an investment that has been a crazy roller coaster to say the least, and my hubby is mister busy man himself.

We have been out of town way too much with everything else going on. I really should have NOT gone anywhere for the first few months, but instead I have taken several trips w/ out a hubby, and like one and a half with him. Holy cow, this chic has no right to complain, she has brought it all on herself! I know, I'm thinking the same thing :)

I really missed Reggie's company and it doesn't help that when he is around he is a huge help most of the time. Just so you know I don't usually have such a problem with Reggie's hunt, or have the need to complain so much, but things have been much different, because he's never gone so much and I have 4 little kids one being a new baby, and now i have school. I love my family, each and everyone.

I bet you thought I was joking about the book:) Well I think it's time for me to wrap it up by counting my blessings...

All this complaining has kind of helped me realize how I just need to count my blessing because they are MANY!

I love my family

My family loves me

My hubby is done hunting now

I have the holidays to look forward to

I can't wait to see Sara(although she will be VERY wrapped up in her hubby), and Katie's house, and Kasiah, and my Grandma's

My kiddos are healthy

My hubby is healthy

I am healthy

Reggie has a job

We have a roof over our heads

We have food on the table

I have the cutest, sweetest, funnest bunch of kids ever

My baby is a great sleeper most of the time(unlike me in the moment)

I get to stay at home with me kids all day everyday and it truly is my dream job

I am glad not to be mad and bitter at Reggie anymore for all this hunting

I really am glad the hunting is behind us right now

I am very glad to be surrounded by the best family and friends ever

I am very grateful to be a mommy

I am very grateful for my parents

I am very grateful that I will have a warm place to be during the winter months

I am very grateful for Reggie for waking up in a freezing cold house and starting a fire so that his family can be warm everyday

I am very excited that they are putting the ditch that runs along our property underground.

I love my sweet little baby and I'm glad I get to see her and touch her and hear her little voice and even smell her yucky spit up

I love to watch me kids play together so much

I love to feel the love that exists in my home

I have the knowledge of the Gospel

I know my Family can live together forever

I know my Heavenly Father is looking out for me

I know my Savior Lives and loves me

I am grateful to know there is a True and living Prophet on the earth today

I am so glad my husband is a worthy Priesthood holder and that we can look forward to someday serving a mission together for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Now that hunting is over and I have a little more time since I am not constantly feeding my baby, I really hope I can have a much better attitude, that is all I really want right now :)

Enjoy the catch up from the last few months, it is now 2:15am and it is well past my bedtime. *Goodnight*

Reg's hunt!

Reggie went deer hunting in Oct.

This pic is the tarantula he saw while out and about. I'm sorry I wasn't there to hear him squeal like a school girl. He HATES spiders. When we first got married I had to kill the spiders. But I'm a mean wife and eventually told him to just get over it and he now does the job.

Although he isn't a creepy crawly lover, he does love the outdoors. He just got this deer while out hunting and he will usually just butcher it and freeze it, and it's a main source of food around here, but this time we turned a LOT of it into jerky and it is delish! He's now ready to take all our game meat out of the freezer and jerky it up! Yeah for me! I love BEEF! Not to mention our freezer is busting at the seems! Even Kira who literally takes about 10 min to chew a tiny piece of meat gobbled up a piece of jerky in no time(at least we now know it's possible).

Good job Honey! And thank heavens your done!(At least for this year)

Happy Halloween! Oct. 30th

A little bit of pumpkin carving and painting that Cooper has been BEGGING us to do!

Someday Reggie and I will stop embarrassing ourselves at our ward trunk n' treat. We are of a small handfull of people who dress up, and it's not like either one of us are outgoing at all so I think we really surprise people. I actually had a wig too but it was getting in my food so I ripped it off(Reggie was VERY jealous). Every year I pretend like I know Reggie will dress up but I doubt it every year. He always surprises me!!

Cooper was all ready to be a cowboy until the day before halloween somebody told him "You don't want to be a cowboy, you're a cowboy every day." Thanks alot Nate! I'm just kidding- it is pretty funny but only because we had a back up costume (Sorry I haven't given it back yet KT) Well anyway, Cooper changed his mind Sat. afternoon :) So Cooper was Peter Pan, Kira was not just your ordinary witch, she was a Rockin' Star Witch!! Kyler was a clown(we probably should have let him dress up also ;). And my little Lacee Lou was a Bunny!

I HOPE EVERYBODY HAD A FUN HALLOWEEN!!

Happy Birthday Cooper! Oct 16th

For Coopers Birthday, we gave him a choice-either we go camping or we just a little birthday at home where G & G Reed come over. And he said he wanted his party at G & G Reeds, well that was not one of the choices, but what the heck-it's not my b-day. Well he also wanted Grandma Reed to help him make his cake. Wow, talk about me getting off easy. I don't have to clean my house or make a cake!! I'm so spoiled!

Uncle Wade with Lacee.

Kyler man really wanting that thing to GO!

Wade is such an awesome uncle! My kids LOVE him!

Reggie get's the fun job...

This is our fun little water balloon fight with Reg's family...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIDDO!! I SURE LOVE YOU!

You are an awesome big brother to your siblings! You have such a BIG heart! And I love how much you look up to your Daddy, I hope you always do. Keep livin' life with that adorable -sorry-Handsome smile of yours!

And I can't believe you are 6!!!!